ON THRFF 

BATTLE FRONTS 





PRIVATE FRED 







Book. 



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Gop>Tight]»I?_ 



CJ)F^3iIGHT DEPOSm 



On Three Battle Fronts 



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in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



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^VILLIAM A. HOWARD 

"Wounded at 

Gallipoli 



CLARENCE V. HOWARD 
Killed at 
Gallipoli 



FRED HOAA^ARD 

■Wounded at 

Gallipoli 



HOWARD BROTHERS 
At Broadmeadows Training Camp, Melbourne. 



ON THREE 
BATTLE FRONTS 

BY 

PRIVATE 
FRED HOWARD 

II 

Of the Australian and Canadian Forces 

Illustrated 




Limited Subscribers' Edition 

NEW YORK 1918 

PUBLISHED BY VECHTEN WARING COMPANY 
37 AND 39 East Twenty-Eighth Street 



■^%\ 



Copyright 1918 by 
Vechten Waring Company, New York 



FEB 15 1919 

©CI.A512364 



To Woodrow Wilson, 
^ The President of the United States, 

? America's Inspiring Leader 

^ in the Great War 

in which it was my privilege to serve, 

To my Comrades In Arms, 

and 
To one other, 
**The Queen of My Heart'' 

this book is cordially dedicated. 



Fred Howard — Anzac 

Frederick Thomas Rowland Howard was born in 
1887 in the heart of the Australian "Bush", in the 
town of Lillidale — "the prettiest town on earth" if we 
may believe him — and already famous as the birthplace 
of Mme. Melba. His father, Thomas Robert Howard, 
was a retired lawyer of English parentage, and his 
mother, Clara Hathaway Howard, of French and Eng- 
lish extraction, claiming descent on the English side 
from the family of Anne Hathaway. 

Fred Howard was chosen by his parents to follow 
his father's profession and was educated in Melbourne 
with this in view, graduating from The English Gram- 
mer School of that city with a B.A. Degree, in 1907. 
At this time, however, his love of outdoor life asserted 
itself so strongly that he gave up his intended career 
to play professional football. 

The following year he toured Australia, South 
Africa and the British Isles with the "Australian 
Wallobys" playing many exhibition football matches, 
and left the team in England, to travel in Spain, South 
America, the United States and Canada for pleasure. 

Upon his return to Australia, Howard went back to 
"Bush" life and the plains, where he tried his hand at 
many forms of outdoor life varying from lumbering to 
sheep shearing and horse-breaking. 

At the outbreak of the war Fred Howard, then 27 
years of age, had not yet "found his groove" and was 
free to answer the first call for men. Dropping his 
work of horsebreaking, he went at once to Melbourne 



Fred Howard — Anzac 



and there enlisted with his twin brother, William Al- 
fred Howard, who was later wounded at Gallipoli, 
and his younger brother Clarence Victor Howard who 
was killed on the second day of that ill-fated campaign. 
Since his return from the front Private Howard has 
devoted his entire time and strength to Red Cross and 
Liberty Loan work where many of the readers of this 
book have had the opportunity of hearing from his own 
lips some of the experiences and adventures recounted 
in the following pages. 



Introduction 

I have not tried to record herein any of the 
historical events of the Great War, but merely 
set down my own experiences as a soldier for 
three years on three battle fronts. 

I confess a feeling of pride has come over 
me at the thought that I have been already priv- 
ileged to go through what thousands of young 
Americans have still before them in order that 
this great struggle for democracy may be glor- 
iously concluded. The recollection of my many 
months service in No-man's-Land brings with 
it a certain sense of contentment in the con- 
sciousness that the Great Cause has been fur- 
thered, though only a little, by my efforts. 

It was in Australia that I first joined the 
colors in response to Kitchener's call — a step 
which gave me ample opportunity for adven- 
ture; but my reunion with the Canadians in 
19 16 was a duty I owed to posterity — a duty 
made vivid, insistent, real, by the haunting 
thoughts of my slain brother, thoughts which 
were always present with me till I obeyed the 



10 On Three Battle Fronts lo 

great impulse that led me to the Western bat- 
tlefields of France. 

Now I am in the discard after eleven months 
of hospital treatment — and yet I feel as if my 
task were not yet all fulfilled. My blood 
pulses and climbs to fever pitch when I recall 
the ruin, the abominations wrought by Kaiser- 
ism, and if this modest work of mine but stirs 
its readers to a fervent patriotism and brings 
home to them the supreme importance of safe- 
guarding the world of the future against the 
domination of the Hun, then I shall consider 
myself amply repaid for the labor of its making. 






i. 



The Call 

If the Sphinx had spoken after thousands of 
years of silence proclaiming Armageddon could 
it have been received with greater reverence 
than Kitchener's bugle call for 100,000 from 
the youngest democracy on this globe — Aus- 
tralia ? Looking down the historic corridors of 
the past, I believe such invitation to accept of 
wholesale adventure unparalleled. An oppor- 
tunity to serve in Kitchener's army in the "big 
adventure" was the sort of chance that comes 
but once in a lifetime, and to such an extent was 
it accepted that the full quota of men for the 
first Expeditionary Force formed a representa- 
tive body of men — in number, from the coastal 
cities to the land of the never-never where men 
exist under the regime of "There's lots of time." 
Who, indeed, with red blood in his veins, could 
resist the magnetic pull of this immortal genius 
— Kitchener of Khartoum? His request was 
for men — ^men whose lives were unhampered 
by domestic cares, whose bodies were strong 
and fit, and thus it was he drew the cream of 
Australia, men capable of accomplishing feats 



12 On Three Battle Fronts 12 

ordinarily deemed impossible, but now famil- 
iarly associated with the name Anzac. 

A gigantic work such as this, undertaken with- 
out preparation, naturally swamped the hastily 
appointed administrative Officers and offices; 
but with inexhaustible vim and sincere endeavor 
Australia met her obligations in a manner sat- 
isfactory considering the circumstances. 

I was one of those who accepted this op- 
portunity to enlist, and on being declared physi- 
cally fit by a dozen or so Doctors, I climbed into 
a horrible ill-fitting suit of "dungarees" and 
staved off the rays of the sun with a white soft 
cloth hat whose inclination it seemed, was to 
emulate the lines usually associated with a wet 
sock. A comedy soldier was created, and any- 
thing but a soldierly appearance did the wearer 
present. Charlie Chaplin is justly noted for his 
ludicrously ill-fitting clothes, but had a movie 
man been present with his machine on the occa- 
sion of which I speak, I doubt whether a certain 
film star would have had such a lengthy run in 
starland. Nevertheless, it was the great call 
which held us, ready for any field where our 
General thought fit to place us. 

Prior to enlisting I had experienced life in 



13 The Call 13 

many phases. Farming, sheep-breeding, drov- 
ing, shearing, and professional football being 
only a few of the occupations that I had fol- 
lowed in the wild endeavor to find the groove 
for which I was designed. 

B roadmeadows 

To train and discipline and drill a body of 
carefree Australians, as unprepared as were 
these men, was a stupendous undertaking. 
There in the Broadmeadows camp, where I 
gleaned my first knowledge of "forming fours'* 
and "right-about-turn," were cattle men, shear- 
ers, railroad men and a host of other poorly 
clad fellows representing a thousand industries 
and occupations. 

Picture hundreds of these rookies in this 
motley attire, endeavoring to "form fours" and 
hopelessly getting into a mess which could only 
be adjusted by the men themselves on being 
ordered by an officer "As you were"; and 
what humiliation they suffered at the hands 
of our seemingly heartless officers. A button 
unfastened was always a great opening for a 
severe remark such as "Fall out, number three, 



14 On Three Battle Fronts 14 

and dress yourself," and with dragging step 
and unmistakable signs of disgust on his coun- 
tenance, number three would advance and fol- 
low the Officer's instructions, — a proceeding 
which to our minds was quite remote from the 
proper duties of an Australian soldier. 

All the preparatory work at Broadmeadows 
had to be performed by the first contingent 
men. There was nothing else to commence 
with but a piece of level ground; to construct 
thereon a suitable encampment for thousands 
of men was a task which tried the skill and 
patience of the executive Officers as well as the 
men themselves. Sleeping on the bare ground 
was not considred too harsh treatment by these 
men of adventure, but when it rained, before 
our tents were provided with catchment drains 
for surface water, something like bedlam was 
created, as all tents were filled to their utmost 
capacity, and once the wet tent was touched 
from the inside the rain would come through 
at that particular point on to the unfortunate 
below. However it was good training for 
what one has to endure out in France even 
these days in the front line trenches. 

My love of horses was responsible for my 



15 The Call 15 

"joining up" with the artillery In order that I 
might be close to the best dumb friend that 
every man had. 

Good horses were scarce, and In the Gov- 
ernment's wild endeavor to get sufficient horse 
flesh for the artillery it combed the mountain 
tops and the outlying stations. It was in this 
manner that many a wild "brumby" was sent 
into the city of Melbourne to contribute Its mite 
towards the great adventure. Under such cir- 
cumstances a horse which afterwards became 
famous In our battery was brought into the 
company. He was only an Australian 
"brumby", no doubt, but his intelligence and 
spirit were marked. He was almost Instantly 
named "Roman Nose" because of the pro- 
nounced curve In his nose and forehead which 
time proved housed the best brain ever a horse 
had. His tail was long and trailing, his mane 
unkempt and the flash In his eyes showed the 
temper of the animal to any man who knew 
horse flesh. All the horses were handled eas- 
ily enough except Roman Nose, but notwith- 
standing his spirit, his mane and tail were suc- 
cessfully bobbed, and his coat was sometimes 
even brushed over by an attendant. 



1 6 On Three Battle Fronts i6 

A week or two of drill robbed most of us of 
the peculiarities of our former business in life ; 
the drover lost his easy swagger ; the stockman, 
his bow legs; and the city clerk his paleness, 
till we presented that appearance of bronzed 
and robust manhood which has to-day become 
familiar in America. 

A month had elapsed when orders were is- 
sued that all men were to present themselves 
for khaki suits and other equipment belonging 
to a real Australian soldier. It was welcome 
news, you may believe. An ancient Roman 
toga could not have had more folds in it than 
had some of those temporary uniforms, handed 
out to the first hundred thousand Australians. 
High spirits prevailed throughout the camp, 
among the men who were sick of the sight of 
those white soft hats and blue dungarees, 
deemed so unbecoming as to prevent many of 
us from leaving the camp grounds except under 
the camouflage of a great coat of the orthodox 
type. But a transformation was brought about 
when our uniforms were distributed and it 
hardly need be recorded that blue dungarees 
lay around indiscriminately for many days af- 
terwards. 



17 The Call 17 

Quite unruly I believe we were In many ways 
In those days. Discipline had been farthest 
from our minds when the call for the great 
adventure was heard. But by this time we were 
sufficiently disciplined, at least to lead an officer 
to the belief that he might be able to make 
something someday of the boys under his care. 

Fights were frequent among the boys, and 
It took very little to bring about an appeal to 
the court of bare fists. In fact, pugilistic en- 
counters were being staged all the time ; so our 
Officers introduced boxing gloves and a stand- 
ard ring in order that the fights might be con- 
ducted along proper lines, I. e. according to the 
Australian rules of boxing. In this way many 
interesting amateur battles were satisfactorily 
decided without undue brutality. 

One of the chief things which brought about 
these fights was the presence of a bunch of 
dare-devils who paraded the grounds as offi- 
cial camp hair-cutters. Their equipment was a 
box, a sheet and a nice little bag which con- 
tained nothing other than a very blunt and de- 
fective pair of horse clippers. Most of the 
men in camp wore their hair short, but there 
were certain chaps— "dandies" we called them 



1 8 On Three Battle Fronts i8 

— who persisted In evading the shears. The 
usual method of our barbers then was to seize 
on one of these dandles and forcibly subject him 
to the trimming of his locks. Outnumbered 
three to one, Mr. Dude did not have a chance 
in the world, so they usually took the oper- 
ation In fairly good part and only asked that 
a reasonably decent job be made of his head. 
That, of course, was readily promised. So on 
to the box he went and was presently swathed 
In the sheet. One drive with the clippers from 
the nape of the neck right over to the fore- 
head usually constitutd a full hair-cut, to the 
delight of onlookers and the satisfaction of the 
hair-cutters. The abused one would usually re- 
taliate with fight, but as Officers by this time 
were plentiful, all such scenes had to be staged 
for the benefit of the boys; and so our amuse- 
ment went on. 

The shaving men, however, were worse yet. 
Their procedure was conducted entirely by 
force. First a rich lather of flour and water 
was mixed and brushed on. After dragging a 
hoop-Iron razor over their victim's face to the 
accompaniment of unmerciful groans from the 
sufferer, a blistering hot wire was drawn swiftly 



19 The Call 19 

around his throat. Instantly he would en- 
deavor to reach the sun. "My God; I didn't 
think the razor was sharp enough to cut his 
throat so badly," the barber would innocently 
remark. Many a poor youth, bewildered In 
this manner and thinking he had been done for, 
would set out on a run in the direction of the 
medical tent with the lather of flour and water 
still sticking to his face. 

The humiliation of drill was lifting a little 
as time ran along, because we were learning 
to really do things; then too rumors were 
prevalent that the boys would ihave only a 
little while longer before enjoying the sport 
of real battle. When we heard that, we were 
willing to salute a post another thousand times 
without complaining of the monotony of the 
proceeding. 



Aboard The "A9" 

"Final Leave" — who is the soldier who 
does not understand what those words mean? 
Early in October, 19 14, the gravity of those 
words became quite apparent to us all. A mil- 
lion farewells were said to relatives, sweet- 
hearts and friends — if indeed one was fortunate 
enough to have them near at hand. Sailing 
day was not, however, definitely fixed, as it 
was obvious that the date of departure from 
Australian waters must be kept secret, to elude 
the German raider Emden, who was plying her 
**trade" somewhere in the Indian Ocean. We 
had *'last'' nights in town for a week or so, and 
then almost doubting the probability of our 
ever actually leaving Melbourne, we were at 
last startled by the order to be in readiness at 
4:30 A. M. on the 20th of October. Orders 
were to proceed **on shanks ponies" to the point 
of embarkation some 15 miles distant, but the 
Artillery was so fortunate as to possess enough 
broken horses to ride the distance — to the great 
envy and admiration of the Infantrymen. A 



21 Aboard the "A9" 21 

string of transports were awaiting us at the 
piers, and after being endlessly, as it seemed 
to us, counted and recounted we were ordered 
to load our equipment on to the S. S. Shropshire 
which wais known better as the "A9". The 
horses were loaded in slips and hurriedly taken 
on with the aid of the winches. An hour or two 
was sufficient to take all the necessaries on 
board, and by 8 o'clock we were in good shape 
for pushing off from the pier and laying out 
into the stream. 

No doubt it would be hard on mothers, 
sisters and sweethearts when next they went to 
visit the camp at Broadmeadows to find that 
their soldier boy had departed, and hard it 
was also on the boys to be burdened with the 
duty of silence. Under no circumstances were 
soldiers allowed to approach telegraph office 
or 'phone box in order to say the last farewell 
to their home folks, quietly performing cus- 
tomary home duties without dreaming of the 
changed whereabouts of their boys. Many of 
these lads were now swallowing hard lumps 
in their throats as the glorious light of the 
Australian skies proclaimed another day flooded 
with sunshine. 



22 On Three Battle Fronts 22 

The whistle blew, gang planks were drawn 
up and hawsers cast off from the, piers aiS 
slowly but surely we moved away from the 
dock and were at last on our way to fight the 
Germans on some yet unknown frontier. Quiet- 
ly the transports slipped out of Port Melbourne 
with their loads of human freight swaying un- 
easily to the every movement of the great 
steamers. Many men were afloat for the first 
time in their lives, and if I had been a student 
of psychology I should have been greatly inter- 
ested in the childlike actions of some of those 
"gumleaf huskies.'* Some became sea sick even 
before we had got out of the harbor, whilst 
others, — ^myself included — were stricken with 
a malady quite as serious, perhaps, namely 
home-sickness. With me it was not so bad as 
with some others, for I had previously been 
to England, South America, the United States 
and Canada; but on this errand of strange ad- 
venture I was not immune from a very lively 
presentiment that I might never see the sunny 
shores of the receding land again. A band on 
board came to the rescue of us all, and after 
"Tipperary'' and other war-time tunes we 
"bucked up" sufficiently to sniff with pleasure 



23 Aboard the "A9" 23 

the salt sea air. The decks were still smother- 
ed with men in khaki, some of them waving 
handkerchief or flag in the forlorn hope of at- 
tracting some friend's attention. Tug boats 
saluted us as we moved slowly down the stream, 
and ferry-boats and smaller craft were ready 
with a hearty "Good luck, boys," as we passed 
them. 

When evening arrived our positions were 
allotted to us in the hammocks which swung 
from the deckhead in our "mess" rooms. 
"Mess" was in reality any spare space in 
which an eating table could be arranged and a 
hammock suspended over the same. 

We did not know to what port we were sail- 
ing, and our only hope lay in the possibility 
that the sealed orders would eventually take us 
to England, from which point we would be dis- 
tributed to the various battlefields. 

At a point arranged by wireless somewhere 
off the coast of West Australia, all the trans- 
ports from the various states and also from 
New Zealand met, and here we came. It look- 
ed like a family meeting of ships taking place 
under the ever watchful eye of a couple of 
cruisers hovering far away on the horizon. 



24 On Three Battle Fronts 24 

Positions were allotted to the various trans- 
ports; instead of us rookies having to form 
straight lines, this time the ships' captains were 
responsible for the orderly alignment of three 
columns comprising 52 transports. Here and 
there and everywhere were battleships and 
cruisers, so it seemed to us at any rate, so 
rapidly did they move about. Viewed from an 
aeroplane this scene must have been most im- 
pressive. From my position on the "A9'' it 
seemed as if the boats stretched from horizon 
to horizon, and the smoke towered up through 
the balmy air toward the blue dome above. 



Sinking of the Emden 

German chivalry at this time was not yet 
totally extinct. We were continually in touch 
with boats that had been pursued by the cruiser 
Emden, and they reported that when the pirate 
overtook its prey all passengers were allowed 
a reasonable time in which to transfer valuables 
to another boat under German command before 
a shell was sent through the bows of the un- 
fortunate ship. This procedure may have been 



25 Aboard the ''A9'' 2^ 

caused by the realization, on the part of the 
Emden's Commanding Officer that escape was 
hopeless; but, be that as it may, his methods 
show decency as compared with the brutalities 
one always associates with the Huns these later 
days of the Great War. 

The 9th of November is a day I link closely 
in mind with the brief history of our sojourn 
on the Australian continent, for it was on that 
day that the Emden met her match and master 
in the diminutive craft, H. M. A. S. Sydney. 
The morning in question was a glorious one, 
the horizon unbroken except for a speck which 
might have been the coast line of some distant 
island or a trader deeply laden. Our trans- 
port steamed on majestically and one might 
have dreamed it was some old Spanish galleon 
working its course across uncharted seas. Far 
ahead was a Japanese cruiser and it was her 
duty I suppose to challenge this speck of a 
steamboat; but the latter dipping the Union 
Jack and hiding her true character behind a 
dummy funnel was permitted to pass unmolest- 
ed. The next ship to question her was the H. 
M. A. S. Sydney. Owing to an unsatisfactory 
answer as to her identity, the little "Sydney" 



26 On Three Battle Fronts 26 

proceeded to overhaul her. The Emden im- 
mediately changed her course and gave the 
"Sydney" a running fight, but so accurate was 
the firing of the lads from back home that 
what was the "Emden" now lies in a tangled 
mass of steel stranded at the water's edge of 
Cocus Island. Later, upon arrival in Egypt, I 
had a feeling of pride, on looking over a copy 
of London "Punch," to find a cartoon depicting 
Australia as a young lion with the "Emden" as 
its prey and underneath, the words "Good 
Hunting." 

Australia's navy, though small, was now a 
factor in the war, and later on the exploits of 
one of her submarines, the A2, again brought 
John Bull, Sr. to the salute in recognition of his 
youngest son's accomplishment. This U boat, 
an old craft of underwater fame, accomplished 
a feat worthy of mention by the historians of 
the Great War. After successfully traveling 
from Australia to the Eastern end of the 
Mediterranean Sea, she proceeded to Gallipoli 
and from there up the mine-laden narrows into 
the Sea of Marmora, from which point she 
went to Constantinople and wrought havoc right 
under the eyes of the Turkish forts, — then re- 



27 Aboard the ''A9" 27 

turned safely through the minefields in the nar- 
rows to her naval base. 

To return to the "Emden." It was the click- 
ing of the wireless instruments that brought us 
the news of the sinking. A holiday was pro- 
claimed throughout the entire convoy as a fit- 
ting mark of appreciation to the blue jackets 
from the antipodes. So gladdened were the 
hearts of the boys that hoarse throats were gen- 
eral because of the patriotic singing which fol- 
lowed. The crowded deck drills and setting 
up exercises were all called off and all were 
privileged passengers enjoying themselves as 
they pleased, after partaking of a few extras 
served in honor of the occasion. Then once 
again we proceeded along our course in the 
spectacular three-line formation. 

Later it transpired that a few prisoners were 
taken from the Emden debris. These were 
placed on our flagship where they were cheered 
on arrival as a worthy enemy contented to ac- 
cept what Fate lay in store for them at the 
hands of their conquerors. They were subse- 
quently taken to Colombo, where minor repairs 
were effected upon the ''Sydney" — for she did 
not escape "Scot Free." 



28 On Three Battle Fronts 28 



"Without Leave" 

On our arrival at Colombo the displeasing 
news was posted that all shore leave was can- 
celled. Now, I wished very much to go ashore. 
The only way of "making the grade" was for 
me to lower myself down a hawser that trailed 
invitingly over the stern of the ship on which I 
felt myself interned. This I did. At the other 
end of the hawser there was a lighter manned 
by natives, who could not comprehend anything 
till I slipped them a shilling, and then they 
were men who fully understood my desire, and 
without further ado they rowed me to the 
shore, inquiring in very good English when I 
would be returning. These natives were clothed 
just sufficiently to evade the law and were vile 
smelling creatures. 

After having seen the city, and loaded up 
with mementoes of my visit — ivory elephants 
(that never saw a tusk), ostrich fans and bric- 
a-brac, I endeavored to return to the ship by 
the same boat which carried me across the 
stream. They were temporarily absent, but I 
subsequently located them by their yelling lest 
I should employ some other boatman. On 



29 Aboard the "A9" 29 

again presenting the shilling tip, the niggers 
rowed me enthusiastically to the ship. Stepping 
on to the gang-plank I waved them adieu, not, 
however, before the Colonel was attracted by 
their presence and leaning over the rail of the 
ship caught sight of me, coming up with my 
armful of souvenirs. Five minutes after that I 
remember distinctly a red carpet which decorat- 
ed the floor of the Colonel's private room, and 
I might mention emphatically that the receding 
shores of Colombo were not seen by me as I 
had other duties to perform — in a dark room — 
the chief one being to find a pin on the floor 
after the same had been thrown at the bulkhead 
of my private "State Room." 



Aden was the next port of call ; a barren and 
parched stopping point. It is known to tourists 
only for the cheapness of the Birmingham wares 
to be found there in the hands of the natives 
who palm them off to the unsuspecting travelers 
as their own creations. The Hebrew has a cer- 
tain personality which lends itself successfully 
to the clinching of a bargain, but these natives 
can outpoint him In the craft of salesmanship. 



30 On Three Battle Fronts 30 

Fortune Smiles 

Six weeks came to an end when Port Said 
was reached. I had grown naturally tired of 
the confinement on board ship and decided to 
again make port under any circumstances, de- 
spite the fact that orders had been issued for- 
bidding shore leave. So we devised a plan 
whereby eighteen men left the ship disguised in 
oilers' and firemen's clothes, likewise a goodly 
portion of coal dust. A little camouflage on 
our faces completed the disguise, and lo; the 
feat w^as accomplished with ease. The incon- 
venience we were to suffer by reason of those 
dirty clothes never dawned upon our minds. 
The very natives, suspicious of our character, 
declined to associate with us whilst a stray of- 
ficer was in sight (whose excuse for shore leave 
by the way was always sufficiently serious to 
allow him to go ashore and bring souvenirs on 
board from the various bazaars). All explan- 
ations and the use of the most eloquent oratory 
failed to convince any person living in Port 
Said that the soldier-stokehold workers were 
anything but half breeds from Singapore or 
the Malay Straits, and it was because of such 



31 Aboard the "A9'' 31 

discouraging experiences that the little band 
decided to again return to the ship at an early 
hour. Meantime, suspicion on board ship had 
arisen, and an investigation had been made for 
missing men. It was quickly found that several 
men were short. The presence of a knot of 
Officers and the Colonel at the top of the gang 
plank was a distressing sight for the wanderers. 
It was I A. M. according to the ship's time; 
the men were tired of being in their greasy 
clothes so in spite of the menace of the Officers 
presence we unanimously decided to make a 
bold stand, file up the gang plank and try to 
pass the guards. There was a powerful light 
adjusted so as to shine into the face of any- 
one going aboard. Up we went, and I could 
see as each reached the last step his command- 
ing Officer pounce upon him and ask his name ; 
and before he could answer generally one of 
the Officers of his division had him pinned 
down. Those names given on the spur of the 
moment were amusing ; they ranged from Abdul 
Hamid to Bill Jones. I happened to wait 
till the last, and as Providence would have it 
two bona fide firemen had just preceded me up 
the gang plank. Having a keen realization 



32 On Three Battle Fronts 32 

of the danger awaiting me, I pulled down my 
felt hat on one side, closed my eye on the 
other side and prepared for the big show-down. 
The two firemen were passed after a casual ex- 
amination of their horny hands ; so when it came 
my turn I mumbled some improvised foreign 
name, passed along as a matter of course, and 
to my great surprise was marked off the list as 
the third fireman. 

Seventeen men proved themselves not grumb- 
lers when twenty-one days field punishment was 
given them on arrival in Egypt. 

It is on record, however, that the Colonel 
threw himself down upon the sands of the desert 
in a fit of something or other when he was told 
that I was amongst the camouflaged men who 
came aboard that night, defied scrutiny, and 
passed muster as a plain fireman. 

A City of Lost Ideals 

At last Alexandria was reached after a long 
voyage which took toll of about 30 men and 50 
horses. It is a sad and impressive sight to see 
•a funeral at sea — at least on the occasion of 
which I write. The ship having to perform 



33 Aboard the "A9" 33 

this solemn duty would drop out of line, heave 
to, and lower the dead man's body, wrapped in 
the Union Jack, over the side. During the 
ceremony all would stand at attention, salutes 
were fired, and altogether it was something that 
left its mark on the minds of these carefree boys 
setting out on the great adventure. 

To those who have not traveled I would say, 
Alexandria is a seaport where the decadent na- 
tionalities of the world meet, as it seems pur- 
posely, to entertain the tourists; and it is gen- 
erally speaking more satisfactory to be seated 
cozily in a chair and read from some fluent 
author a vivid description of the pursuits and 
lost ideals of these people, than to investigate 
for oneself. In this manner one is not incon- 
venienced by the physical presence of vile smell- 
ing natives. I say "natives" reluctantly, for 
to endeavor to classify them would be to court 
trouble. They are unshod, unclean, and alive 
with vermin, and delight in trading off var- 
nished rubbish to unsuspecting tourists, as their 
own native handiwork. One must admit that 
things are cheap in this quarter of the globe but 
to be sure of cleanliness one might better de- 
scribe than collect the goods sold by these people 



34 On Three Battle Fronts 34 

of the Suez Canal Zone. Artists can enjoy the 
crumbling masses of masonry and picture in 
vivid colors the quaint streets with their bunt- 
ing effects, but where disease is so prevalent the 
less said of beautiful environment the better. 



"The Sink of the World" 

A modern automobile in the midst of the 
ruins of Rome would not be expected to blend 
with the antique character of that historic place, 
and in a similar way one's mind glimpses the 
intrusion of modern life into the darkened 
centuries, in the presence of the little train built 
to foster and feed the curiosity of tourists 
traveling between Alexander and Cairo. This 
train we took to Cairo. 

Filthily robed Arabs straying hither and 
thither with no apparent purpose in existence, 
impress one with the notion that they are in 
search of an unattainable ideal which demands 
their presence now on the horizon coming in 
one's direction and again later on the horizon 
departing from one's sight. 

The dusty hot journey in a railroad carriage 
r^senibling a horse car, proved nevertheless 



35 Aboard the "A9" 25 

most interesting. We tumbled out with stiff 
limbs at Cairo, and now it was the privilege of 
our Australian Contingent to delve into the 
ancient history of the world. 

"The Sink of the World," as Cairo has aptly 
been called, is better described by other pens, so 
I will not linger too long within the city whose 
filthy and wretched conditions brought death to 
many of our healthy, hearty boys. 

Light hearted Cairo with its decadents comb- 
ed from the corners of the world seemed to 
imagine a large picnic was being conducted by 
the British Government for their recreation. 
Male and female spies congregated in this social 
vortex and enjoyed the gaiety with the unsus- 
pecting. The danger was not realized and the 
most serious thoughts could be brushed aside 
by the recitation of a poem by Kipling. How 
frail is human nature in the presence of the 
sort of excitement that gave charming ladies op- 
portunities for their hostile labors and resulted 
in so many fine men being recorded amongst 
the — well, they are dead to the Australians. 

Initiation into Cairo's circles demands a clean 
break with biblical ideals^ — at least, that is how 
it appealed to one Australian; and yet tourists 



36 On Three Battle Fronts 36 

vie with each other as to the breadth and 
variety of their several experiences, romantical- 
ly cackling about this colored land with its im- 
perial purples and gorgeous sunset reds. 



Camp Mena 

A thirteen mile march out from the historic 
city of Cairo, brought us to a little village called 
Mena, which, by the way Is the aristocratic 
center for visitors to the land of heat, disease, 
and color. It is located quite near the pyramids 
and the sphinx. It was about 4 P. M. when I 
arrived at this point and viewed the wonders 
of the world by the aid of starlight and a full 
moon now low in the heavens. It was a mo- 
ment for red-hot inspiration; a time for poets; 
but after camp was officially struck an hour later 
all were ready for sleep, and with the aid of a 
blanket, a little furrow in the sand and a mound 
of sand for a pillow, the desert with Its chilly 
night atmosphere could not Interfere with the 
boys' slumber. 

The first morning on the desert was one of 
those impressive occasions when the heart of 
man responds to a world of glorious color and 
feels contented In so majestic a setting as is to 
be found in the vicinity of the greatest wonders 
extant. On the one hand the pyramids — on the 
other the sphinx ; a cloudless sky overhead, save 



38 On Three Battle Fronts 38 

for a fleck of white on the horizon, all set 
against the white sands of the desert which roll 
on to oblivion! 

A bugle calls. Immediately all is bustle ; the 
first steps are taken to form the nucleus of a 
camp now famous and capable of housing thou- 
sands of men under sanitary conditions and in 
suitable quarters. 

Many tedious days were spent in laying pipes 
for the water supply, erecting temporary offices 
and shelters, placing in position feed-boxes for 
the horses, and the thousand and one other 
duties necessary to get the biggest show on 
earth under way, and I do believe the system 
of the Barnum and Bailey people would have 
saved weeks of time and labor; but system is a 
product of years and not a thing momentarily 
arrived at. 

Rationed on food of an inferior quality 
which was continually being tampered with by 
the Turkish women and paid Arabs; drinking 
water which was forever being poisoned by 
the power of German gold; suffering from the 
unmerciful rays of the sun and the extreme cold 
of the night air, and marching weary miles 
upon miles on sand in order to fulfill our drill 



39 Camp Mena 39 

orders (so carefully laid down by Kitchener 
years previously), some of us became so hard- 
ened that we were physically fit for any ordeal 
that might come to the lot of the present day 
warrior. With others, however, it was too 
severe; their systems became run down by the 
change of climate and the strange foodstuffs, 
and they fell a prey to various kinds of sick- 
nesses that arose from apparently nowhere at 
all. Probably Kultur was responsible for the 
presence of the Sandy Blight and the thousand 
and one other forms of disease. Seldom a day 
passed without five or six funerals. We mark- 
ed the place of our comrades' last long rest with 
little wooden crosses, but now the shifting sands 
of the desert have wiped out even that memor- 
ial, and it may be the Arab in his lonely journey- 
ings across the desert sees before him the 
bleached bones of some Australian or New 
Zealand soldier who perished far from friends 
and home. 

As the weeks rolled by, the discipline of the 
army became stricter, and now the men were 
fully seasoned to the ideas of duty and 
obedience — having long ago forgotten the 
rookie view of a high-handed Officer's manner. 



40 On Three Battle Fronts 40 

Desert Mysteries 

A wind storm on the desert is an incident in 
one's career never to be forgotten. Exper- 
ience has taught the Arabs how to care for 
themselves under these circumstances. I now 
understand the pictures to be found in chil- 
dren's books where the tents are very low, 
being only a few feet high at the roomy end 
and tapering off to the ground on three sides. 
It is an ingenious arrangement, for under one 
of these covers one is comparatively free from 
the assaults of the dust-laden atmosphere which 
sweeps over one's head at a hurricane rate. 
These tents are simple in design and can be 
hurriedly erected by the Arab philosopher who 
smells a wind storm coming in his direction. 
These men of the desert have wonderful na- 
tural faculties, as they never use a compass and 
travel for miles and miles across an unbroken 
sea of sand which is continually changing in 
its appearance. It is an undulating wilderness 
today and tomorrow it is a level plain. No 
wonder some of our fellows strayed over the 
horizon into the obscurity. 

I have seen, out in Australia, mirages of rip- 



41 Camp Mena 41 

pllng water nestled amongst trees whose reflec- 
tion could be clearly seen in the much needed 
water, but a bush life taught me never to follow 
one. The nearer one approaches the more dis- 
tinct appear the silvery forms and vegetation 
edging the water, and many a famished man 
has yielded up his life in the hopeless endeavor 
of securing water from this little trick of nature. 
In Egypt I was taken off my guard when I first 
sighted another city, apparently but a mile or so 
away from camp, but before many of the boys 
had decided to visit this city with its distant 
green hills we were informed of its mystery and 
the hopelessness of ever reaching It. So plainly 
could it be seen that the superstitious would 
have called it magic, and in the future when 
another Citadel was near at hand, or mansions 
with their majestic water fountains playing de- 
lightfully in the Arabian sunlight, we were full 
of admiration for such airy beauty and eager 
to watch the ever changing scenes until they 
vanished, but sought not to make real the 
ethereal handiwork of nature. 

Would that some Australian boys had so 
viewed the beautiful women who were ever 
ready to parade with the men. A gayly dressed 



42 On Three Battle Fronts 42 

form daintily plying to and fro an Eastern fan 
in order to refresh her ever smiling dimpled 
face and add charm of grace to her attractive 
beauty needed little more than inviting eyes 
for some of our boys to fall foul of poisoned 
gold cloaked in feminine grace. 

A soldier should be part of a machine and 
not subject to sentimental thoughts or domestic 
cares. This fact was recognized by Kitchener 
in refusing to have married men with his Offi- 
cers in India, as I understand he believed them 
to be incapable of serving two great purposes 
of life. Well he knew that a soldier is nourish- 
ed at the breast of discipline and raised to 
maturity in thought and action by a strictness 
which makes men of weaklings and giants of 
men. 

The men of Mena Camp were beginning to 
become as dark as the robed Arabs and as fit 
and energetic as the wonderful Arab horse of 
the desert, whose heart is not subdued by the 
sand nor the abominable weather in which he 
lives but who carries his master across the desert 
at a gallop and lashes the sand to the very 
heavens themselves. 

These steeds, I believe, are the only living 



43 Camp Mena 43 

creatures associated with the desert that have 
pure blood in their veins and from what source 
it came is a question for historians to ponder 
over. It is really remarkable to think that the 
uncouth Arabs have been able to preserve pure 
the blood of their thoroughbred steeds through- 
out the long decadent ages of their history. 

The camel, — that "ship of the desert" — is 
certainly a mournful thing on first sight, but on 
getting better acquainted one is forced to admit 
that he is not what one first assumes him to be. 
The physical nature of the camel is quite the 
reverse of that of the Arab horse, as once their 
flesh is broken it never heals ; and it is a common 
sight in Egypt to see a much patched camel re- 
minding one of circus comedy by its peculiar 
appearance. The patch is made of anything 
that will keep away the flies and weather, and 
when you see this sewn on to the flesh — or 
rather skin — of the beast and that too, in a 
very amateurish manner, you instinctively look 
around for the futurist who has tampered with 
the reality of things. 

A bite from a camel Is poisonous, their pecul- 
iar smell Is anything but pleasant, and should 
they drink from the same trough as a horse the 



44 On Three Battle Fronts 44 

latter is poisoned with some of the germs with 
which the camel in his long drink charges the 
water. Having always been fond of horses and 
not venturing on any new loves, I classified the 
camel as amongst the unwholesome beasts of 
the world. 

The presence of "cooties" on the desert soon 
made itself felt, and no calculation in algebra 
or higher mathematics would measure the rate 
of multiplication, as once these gentlemen make 
any kind of a showing, nothing can control 
them. Men would shrug their shoulders when 
in line and make other strange motions which, 
to the initiated, suggested the presence of Mr. 
Cootie; but when finally said Cootie overtook 
the Officers' quarters a notice w^as posted that 
all men were to be fumigated, and I suppose 
that if there is a camp at Mena today those 
fumigation men are still busy with their dis- 
infectants attending to the great duty of camp 
cleanliness. 

First Time Under Fire 

It was in March, 19 15, that the glad tidings 
were posted that certain of the Australian and 




m 



,B, ' ' '".',» '/«/"' !'''"'/?('/' /V''' 



45 Camp Mena 45 

New Zealand troops were to oppose the Turks 
in their march on Suez Canal; for it was thither 
the German Officers were urging a ragged army 
of "unspeakable Turks" for the purpose of 
"cutting the neck of the British Empire." 

On arrival at the Canal a great and pleasant 
surprise was in store for us in the discovery 
that some troops from India known as Gurkas, 
were stationed there and had made prepar- 
ation for our arrival. 

Scarcely had we landed, when on the horizon 
could be seen the invaders in a dark streak, and 
as they advanced v/e became aware of the fact 
that "a ragged Turkish army" was approaching 
the Canal. On they came across the trackless 
desert. Little did they dream how warm a re- 
ception they would get. A bugle sounded the 
"Advance," and on we rushed to meet the fore- 
most of the enemy. The British Men-o-War 
lying in the Canal at once opened fire in con- 
junction with some stationary batteries belong- 
ing to the Indian troops ; the air was soon filled 
with swirling clouds of yellow dust kicked up 
by the shells, and when the clouds of dust again 
returning to the desert, the sands could be seen 
littered with dead Turks. So accurate was 



46 On Three Battle Fronts 46 

the fire of batteries and battleships that the 
army of Turks soon had to decamp. Quite a 
number of prisoners were taken. They were 
found to be ill fed and filthy. They had execut- 
ed a remarkable forced march over the desert 
and no doubt were glad to be in good hands 
where the necessaries of life could be obtained 
in goodly portions. 

The Turks could not again organize their 
forces to launch a second attack — so thoroughly 
were they beaten. Though the encounter was 
not one in which great strategic moves were 
planned, it was for us, however, the baptism 
of fire. 

It was on this occasion that Kitchener's 
methods were seen to advantage. What fitter 
place is there to train men than on sand? 

The Australian and New Zealand boys at 
this time were certainly in fighting trim; in 
muscular strength and soldierly fitness they 
were equal, man for man, to any body of men 
that I have ever seen. 

In Egypt the name of Kitchener still com- 
mands a respect that is almost awe, from the 
highest to the lowest; and even the wandering 



47 Camp Mena 47 

Arabs on the desert pause at the mention of 
his name. 



Ginger Mack 

Poor MacLaughlan. He was a man who 
never did find himself or the groove for which 
he was fitted in this life. He answered the call 
from an Australian outback sheep station, away 
from the temptations of modern civilization. 
He joined the 6th Battery along with myself 
and when I first sighted his long lean form it 
burnt itself in on my brain and is still recorded 
there. He stood six feet high, was plastered 
with freckles, and had a head of carroty-red 
hair which shamed in coloring the brilliancy 
of the Egyptian Sunset. His feet were ex- 
tremely large as also were his hands; it is 
claimed he could crawl down a rabbit's burrow 
like a ferret because of his sloping shoulders. 
He had a touch of quiet humor and a dispo- 
sition never designed to carry a big load of 
worry. He was at once the butt of all the camp 
jokes and tne favorite of all his fellows. 

He came from over near the Murrumbidgee 
River and walked most of the distance Into the 
city of Melbourne. He didn't stop to get a 



49 Ginger Mack 49 

brush-up of any kind, but was awaiting his turn 
at the Barracks when I arrived to enlist. 

Proclaimed physically fit, he was rounded out 
for Broadmeadows along with a couple of dozen 
other boys; and after donning the blue ''dunga- 
rees" and a "slop" fit hat of white cloth, he was 
a pathetic sight for an artist to gaze upon and 
a source of merriment to all who had not had 
a family death within the preceding week. 

Ginger's education had been sadly neglected; 
it was confined to the calculations involved in 
figuring pay for the shearing of sheep at twenty- 
five shillings per hundred — and on this Ginger 
was "all there." 

On the first drill day Ginger did not know his 
right arm from his left, and as for knowing 
whether he was an even or odd number — why, 
it was absurd to expect the man to understand 
a thing like that. This, naturally, made things 
rather difficult. The drill instructor could never 
handle him as an "odd" man when "forming 
fours" because of his absent-mindedness, for 
when the rest of the squad were formed into 
"fours" Mack would be dreamily awaiting 
further orders in the original formation of "two 
deep." This forced the Instructor to adopt a 



50 On Three Battle Fronts 50 

plan to keep Mack straight. He was always to 
have No. 3 position where he would not have 
to move about In forming fours ; It being quite 
evident that he could count up to three, and 
three being a low number, he was permanently 
designated for this position. Ginger one day, 
becoming quite neglectful because of his famil- 
iarity with drill, got into No. 4 position, and 
on "form fours" being snapped out by our 
young instructor. Mack was Sphinx-like. "No. 
4 take up your correct position" roared the Of- 
ficer but Mack was dreaming of so many hun- 
dred fleeces to the day at so many shillings 
apiece. The Instructor lost his temper and 
called out hurriedly "Ginger," then realizing 
his mistake tried to correct himself by following 
it up quickly with "Mac." In a minute the un- 
disciplined men were biting their lips in the 
wild endeavor to control their feelings. Finally 
Mack clumsily obeyed the Instructor's order, 
but after that moment he was always "Ginger 
Mack" to the boys, and after a week's joshing 
by the boys about his nickname, Mack lazily 
admitted that "they always calls me by the name 
of Ginger Mack up 'ome." 

Mack always seemed to be the man to be in 



51 Ginger Mack 51 

trouble of some kind or another. He was the 
first man to get blistered feet on the parade 
grounds at Broadmeadows because of Ill-fitting 
army shoes. One day someone had exchanged 
uniforms with him, another he had none at all 
to put on In the morning, and when the rest of 
the men were ready for the day's drills he would 
be frantically yelling for wearing apparel, with 
his body out of a tent down to the neck only. 
He was continually being reprimanded for not 
shaving — -''just because them boys steals me 
razor." When his complaints had exhausted 
themselves, I have seen Mack appear on the 
parade ground with two left shoes on and a box 
pleat run down the outside of one trouser leg. 
He would saunter along to the Drill Inspector 
and softly say, ''Sir, it takes me all me time un- 
doing what them boys does for me," and the In- 
structor would bite his lip and laugh heartily 
with his Intimates at the first opportunity, for 
he was a good sport and a man through and 
through. 

Ships? Why, Mack never saw one before; 
and when he found himself on the "A9" and ac- 
tually leaving the dock on an iron structure he 
exclaimed with utter amazement in his voice 



52 On Three Battle Fronts 52 

"Strike me pink, we're off boys;" and, I believe, 
had the ship slipped into a hole through to the 
other side of the world, it would have been no 
greater surprise to the red-headed sheep- 
shearer. 

When the Emden was reported sunk Mack 
thought one of the jokes was going its rounds 
till an Officer told him that all was over with 
the German cruiser. Ginger aired his hair and 
sauntered along the well deck of the steamer in 
deep thought. 

Ginger was born in a dry barren country and 
I believe he had always cultivated the habit of 
drinking like a camel when he had the oppor- 
tunity. Certainly at Alexandria he laid in a 
good store and no one else but a Policeman had 
charge of him on his return to the station where 
he was readily found, for shipping to Cairo. In 
this way Ginger did not suffer, it may be, from 
the tortures of that hot and dusty ride in the 
cattle-truck, but on arrival at Cairo he was 
given his reward of merit. A certain amount of 
cash was always taken along to provide funds 
for the boys, and in order that this might be 
safeguarded Ginger was handcuffed to His 
Majesty's great leather bags and remained on 



^2 Ginger Mack 53 

the job at the dry and deserted camp with 
a couple of Officers to keep him company. 

When the boys returned Ginger got an earfull 
twice over about the wonderful place Cairo 
was, and the exquisite qualities of the refresh- 
ments to be purchased there "for almost noth- 
ing" ; and as the Officers observed Ginger shew- 
ing obvious symptoms of collapsing under the 
strain of listening to such tales whilst consum- 
ing bad water only, the teasing had to cease, 
although, of course, the Officers were enjoying 
the fun fully as much as the men. 

We were yet to be made aware of the possi- 
bilities of the slouchy Australian, for as soon as 
he caught sight of Cairo and its marvellous 
color his one great passion in life revealed it- 
self. 

On his first day of leave Ginger hot-footed 
it into Cairo and purchased a rig-out of artist's 
materials; (who would have thought of Ginger 
Mack as an artist!) On his return, without 
the slightest evidence of having got anything 
"for almost nothing," Ginger seated himself at 
a point of vantage with a drawing-board across 
his knees and with the sure stroke of an 
untutored genius recorded in line and color the 



54 On Three Battle Fronts 54 

Sphinx and Pyramids bathed in the glories of 
Egypt's setting sun. Till he had five studies of 
Egypt completed, he never said a word except 
to a few he trusted, and then one day at noon 
hour Ginger put his work on display. Never 
again was the name of Ginger Mack coupled 
with jest, but with respect, admiration — and 
grief. Some of these works I believe, were 
treasured by Officers and afterwards returned 
to Sydney for publication. All now accorded 
Mack the respect that he deserved; he had come 
into his own; alas, that his heritage of happi- 
ness and honor was to be so brief. 

As it chanced Mack made a wager one day 
that he could climb one of the pyramids, but 
made the tragic error of misjudging his dis- 
tance and from about half way up the side 
of one of these monsters he came rolling down 
to the bottom. His dead body was picked up 
and he was numbered among the many unfor- 
tunates who have been killed by falling from 
the Pyramids. 



Roman Nose 

A rough block of a horse with a long mane 
and trailing tail, who was afterwards called 
Roman Nose, entered the service of His 
Majesty with the first call, for his great educa- 
tion in life. He stood about i6 hands, was a 
bay and had a particularly pronounced curve to 
his nose (well was he named Roman Nose) ; 
and there you have a brief description of a 
horse who afterwards proved himself to be a 
brainy animal and in every way superior to the 
average. He was foaled out in the mountain 
ranges in the eastern part of Victoria, so they 
said; but I maintain that he was a "brumby'* 
rung in on the Government in exchange for a 
handsome price. His breaking-in was com- 
menced in the orthodox manner, but it was early 
seen that his obstinacy could not be mastered 
by any of the boys in No. 4 Battery so after- 
wards he was transferred to another Battery 
and then still another, in the hope that some 
one would be willing to take the "brumby" un- 
der his care and teach him manners. But the 
quest was in vain; and finally Roman Nose 



^6 On Three Battle Fronts 56 

was turned over as a "present" to the 6th Bat- 
tery "as it was a pity to leave such a fine up- 
standing animal behind" — in the words of the 
Officers. I volunteered to care for the horse. 

On arrival in camp his coat had never known 
the touch of a brush, and his eyes rolled madly 
in their sockets when any person laid hand on 
him. It may well be he had never during his 
five years of roaming life, seen a white man 
before the great round-up of horse flesh for 
Kitchener's army. 

He reluctantly submitted to be transformed 
from the horse natural to one without a mane 
and with only a bobbed tail; but it was useless 
for man or horse to try a slacker's game in the 
army in those days. 

It was now my endeavor to break him to 
harness, and many buck-jumping battles were 
fought out between us for the amusement of 
the boys; and let credit be given where credit 
is due — Roman Nose would not stop short of 
victory. My daily preoccupation was to see 
whose skill was greater, but the "brumby" from 
the mountains never would surrender. To him 
civilization with its trappings, its straps — par- 
ticularly its tight belly band, were naught but 



57 Roman Nose 57 

a nuisance, and after each fight, bridle, saddle 
and trainer lay strewn about the ground in an 
order becoming to the majesty of this great 
horse. Sometimes I would remain mounted 
just until Roman Nose decided to roll or leap 
into the air and fall backwards, but the worse 
he behaved the better was my treatment of this 
wildest horse an army ever mustered. As no 
progress seemed to be made in mastering the 
animal, it was finally decided to leave him be- 
hind. When I heard that I pleaded earnestly 
on behalf of my dumb "friend". I argued that 
the sea voyage ahead would tend to quiet him, 
and this coupled with the handling, incidental 
to confinement on an ocean liner, would surely 
result in the animal being mastered. So I pre- 
vailed, and we took him along. Frantically he 
objected to the loading at Melbourne, but with 
the aid of a horse-slip and the steamer's winch, 
Roman Nose was in his allotted few square 
feet down in the bowels of the ship where little 
light found its way. 

Immediately after loading I located my 
charger and I was amused as he showed the 
whites of his rolling eyes when he viewed his 
new surroundings after having his wish broken 



58 On Three Battle Fronts 58 



for the first time; and from this moment he 
had graduated into another class for the re- 
mainder of his education, for he had been 
forced against his will to submit to the treat- 
ment of men. This change from the vast ex- 
panse of mountain ranges to an unhealthy dark 
horse-box tried the horse's heart greatly, but 
with a little extra food I reckoned on his being 
in fair shape at the end of the voyage — and at 
all times he shewed his appreciation of my ac- 
tions by endeavoring to paw or kick me to 
death. 

Many horses suffered so badly on the voyage 
that they had to be shot and thrown overboard, 
but such was not the fate allotted to Roman 
Nose. 

The Artillery Drivers had all the care 
of the horses, but Roman Nose fared bet- 
ter than the rest, and even though I plead 
guilty to having been a thief, I believe 
the offense was worthily committed. Roman 
Nose's share of food during the voyage was 
far above the average, but despite the care 
meted out to him, the confinement and the 
absence of the good sunlight was telling. Grad- 
ually he began to be subdued in spirit some- 



59 Roman Nose 59 

what by the actualities of this horrible existence 
he was leading well under the water line. 

Fortunately, the seven weeks on the water 
were over before this noble steed became too 
far gone, or I believe he would have yielded to 
the great master Death. 

As the horse became weaker and his legs 
swelled more and more, he would not object 
too frantically to the bathing of them, provided 
one could throw a bucket of water straight for 
three or four yards. Other horses' legs were 
massaged, but no human hand could ever ap- 
proach the region of Roman Nose's legs with 
safety. 

A, tall, lean horse walked uneasily from the 
ship at Alexandria, reminding one of a consump- 
tive arriving at a sanitarium. His coat was 
shaggy, his legs were swollen, and his former 
dash was gone; but yet he was at all times set 
to question any person's authority over him. 

He was now in Egypt — a land of noble lines 
in art and architecture — and was about to again 
progress in his studies. How he enjoyed the 
sunlight and the warmth of it after those seven 
dark weeks! He would paw the ground and 
indulge in horse-play of the roughest character, 



6o On Three Battle Fronts 60 

but fortunately the other horses were by this 
time quiet and settled down to the monotony of 
their life, for had they all been of Roman 
Nose's character a stampede would immediately 
have resulted. 

When we loaded him into the freight car 
for shipment to Cairo it was much like the Mel- 
bourne experience, but a little persuasion soon 
resulted in the much tired Roman Nose being 
safely landed in the midst of the other horses 
bound for some place across the sun kissed 
desert. 

I do not know how he fared during the jour- 
ney — a journey which to us proved to be inter- 
esting and restful, but on our reunion at Cairo 
I imagined he was quite appreciative of seeing 
me again. He shewed signs indeed, of becom- 
ing domesticated for he only raised one hind 
leg with the playful purpose of dashing out my 
brains. His usual procedure had been to leap 
into the air with two or three grunts and snorts 
and literally throw his legs in the direction of 
any admirers. 

When the horses had been unloaded at Cairo, 
it fell to my lot to lead Roman Nose with Rve 
other animals to Mena Camp. This called for 



6 1 Roman Nose 6i 

a watchful eye as it required only a little Egyp- 
tian color or the presence of a smelly camel far 
on the windward side to create a stampede 
amongst the six haltered horses. People ac- 
quire unreasonable notions, I know, but I can- 
not help having a strong conviction that Roman 
Nose was not alarmed by the odor from the 
camels but simply took exception because of 
their gruesome build. It was on one of these 
occasions that a mix-up of six horses and my- 
self resulted in one of the horses getting loose 
and subsequently finding his way right into a 
butcher's store in the near-by city. 

As time progressed the expiration of the of- 
ficial month's period for the breaking of the 
horses was nearing, after which time the horses 
were to be ridden and finally trained to their 
work at all costs. Owing to the collapse of 
the transport system, the fodder for the horses 
became very scarce indeed, and this of course 
taxed the weaker horses till at length leather 
guards were placed about their mouths in order 
that they might not appease their appetites with 
the sands of the desert. Roman Nose never 
had much reason to curse the presence of this 
muzzle, for, when the situation grew serious, 



62 On Three Battle Fronts 62 

I was usually able to meet the exigency, and I 
was quite prepared to do anything in order to 
keep my favorite in fair condition. 

I seemed to be always on picket duty. This 
involved my walking up and down the whinny- 
ing lines of horses whose heads were always 
turned towards the picket in the hope that food 
was coming and to be certain not to lose their 
share. I often thought of myself as a Russian 
General being looked at by his troops when on 
inspection, but my pulse was quite normal till 
a certain curved and prominent profile came 
into view which told me that Roman Nose was 
still standing up against the strain of life on 
the desert. 

Indeed, horses were daily collapsing, and it 
was because of my fear that Roman Nose would 
cross over the great divide that I forthwith de- 
cided to improve matters at any expense. A 
dead horse would often leave a little food be- 
hind him and so in the future I became a student 
of the symptoms usually associated with dying 
horses in order that I might be able to collect 
a little extra food for my favorite. This 
method of gleaning relieved the strain some- 
what, but as death is always a matter of un- 



63 Roman Nose 63 

certainty it was quite apparent that other tactics 
would have to be adopted in order to bring in 
a regular supply of food. Consequently I de- 
cided to steal a hatful of poorly chopped fodder 
on every round that I made past the food depot 
by gaining entrance to the shed by means of a 
little window handily placed. Those wide rim- 
med Australian hats we used for everything 
from a wash basin to protection from the rays 
of the sun. I have seen them used for carrying 
water, and on one occasion I witnessed a hungry 
private stealing stew in one. So a hatful at a 
time, I supplied my horse with extra rations. 
Under this treatment Roman Nose immediately 
shewed signs of returning to his former self, 
and gradually but surely his oldtime dash was 
beginning to assert itself. 

The order was now given that all horses 
had to be broken to the saddle and the great 
work of mastering Roman Nose was on. 

The horse was beaten prior to saddling but 
he didn't know it. He resisted to his utmost 
when being saddled by four Artillerymen. The 
hopes of the boys had dwindled when Roman 
Nose had sidled out of the slip at Alexandria 
gaunt and weak and spiritless, but now he 



64 On Three Battle Fronts 64 

was in fair condition, and a buck-jumping 
contest was at hand to the great delight of the 
boys who formed a circle about us. With a 
saddle well secured around him and a heavy 
bridle about his head, I was thrown on to his 
quivering back, and if ever man and horse flesh 
were opposed to each other in battle it was 
on this occasion. The horse was foaming at 
the mouth with rage — his eyes glared in the 
bright sunlight and he commenced by bucking 
himself into a ball and spinning around with 
the speed of a whirlwind. High into the air 
he threw the sand as he alternately plunged and 
braced; but his efforts were in vain. The sand 
was too much of a handicap. The horse's eye 
lit up with bloody despair, and as he played 
his trump tricks he was gradually forced to ad- 
mit the possibility of there being a joker in the 
pack. Twice did he commence to lie down on 
my leg and once he threatened to crush me by 
rearing high into the air and falling back on me 
in order to gain his much prized freedom and 
immunity from discipline. The fight continued 
uninterruptedly and was urged on and on by the 
screaming and whistling of the boys, and then 
as if by the working of magic — he resolved to 



65 Roman Nose 6^ 

behave, and from that time he never again 
bucked with me. With other Australians in- 
deed, he was just the same wild "brumby" as 
ever, but with me he was willing and docile and 
ready to learn and to obey. 

Shortly after this I had Roman Nose per- 
forming on his hind legs and he was unanimous- 
ly accepted as the mascot of the regiment. He 
was always being groomed by someone or nib- 
bling a lump of sugar after having shaken hands 
a dozen times or more with both forelegs, but 
his great mission in life was not fulfilled till 
about six months later. 



Anzacs 

The children unborn shall acclaim 

The standard the Anzacs unfurled 
When they made Australasia's fame 
The wonder and pride of the world. 

Some of you got a V. C, 

Some "the Gallipoli trot," 
Some had a grave by the sea, 

And all of you got it damned hot, 
And I see you go limping through town 

In the faded old hospital blue, 
And driving abroad- — lying down, 

And Lord ! but I wish I were you ! 

I envy you beggars I meet, 

From the dirty old hats on your head 
To the rusty old boots on your feet — 

I envy you living or dead. 
A knighthood is fine in its way, 

A peerage gives splendour and fame. 
But I'd rather have tacked any day 

That word to the end of my name. 

I'd count it the grandest reward 

That ever a man could attain ; 
I'd sooner be "Anzac" than "lord," 

I'd rather be "Anzac" than "thane." 
Here's a bar to the medal you'll wear, 

There's a word that will glitter and glow, 
And an honor a king cannot share 

When you're back in the cities you know. 

Repeat; 

The Children (etc.). 

(This tribute to the Anzacs is included at the express 
wish of the Editors.) 



From Egypt to Gallipoli 

Upon our return to Mena Camp from Suez 
we found a few changes In Officers and tents, 
but the most noticeable of all was an advance- 
ment in the hours of drill and a greatly intensi- 
fied drilling system. 

Grumbling was common, but there were very 
few men who could not stand the extra physical 
strain as all the boys were in excellent condition. 

Route-marching for an "unmeasured" 15 
miles under the command of an Officer unbur- 
dened by a pack on his shoulders, was a trial of 
strength not soon forgotten — an experience 
permanently linked up with memories of the hot, 
dusty, trackless desert. We even attempted the 
impossible, viz, digging trenches In the sands — 
excellent play for little tots with diminutive 
shovels at the sea-shore, but on the dry loose 
sands of the desert a task to be imposed on the 
Devil himself for his crimes. One could Indeed 
manage to scratch a line somewhere only 
to have the wind catch up the sand and oblit- 
erate all Immediately. When practicing In 
these trenches It would not be long before the 



68 On Three Battle Fronts 68 

boys were almost buried in the sand, and ex- 
cept for a row of shoulders and heads one 
would have thought the sand had swallowed up 
the entire body of men except the Officers. 

Before departing from this land of disease 
and sickness a service of purification was per- 
formed by the soldiers themselves by burning 
up certain disreputable houses which had been 
responsible for much that was regrettable in 
the first battalion. The event to which I refer 
was the burning of the Wasir which horrified 
the British Officers, but which the Australians 
present regarded with great and just satisfaction 
as they gazed on the curling fire and smoke 
ascending to the heavens. 

Shortly after this event orders were issued 
by our Major to the effect that we were to pre- 
pare to leave Egypt immediately and proceed 
to Gallipoli to attack the Turk in his home coun- 
try. This operation was, for a time, jestingly 
dubbed by us "The Walk-over to Constantino- 
ple," but, alas, destiny had it indelibly written 
in another way. 

My first thought on receiving this Informa- 
tion was for my favorite horse Roman Nose, 
as the horses were to be left behind. I stole 



6g From Egypt to Gallipoli 69 

him a little extra food as a parting gift, shook 
hands with him for the last time, and when I 
finally fell into formation for the march to 
Cairo, it seemed as though a member of my 
family were missing. With other regiments we 
numbered in all about thirty thousand men 
drawn from the Australians and New Zealand- 
ers then in training on the desert. 

Once again we were on that railroad between 
Cairo and Alexandria; it seemed as though I 
was about to become a commuter. On arrival 
at the seaport we were hurriedly marched to 
the transports lying in readiness to take us to 
our destination. 

Shortly after leaving port we were advised 
to make out our wills, to write home and leave 
all things straight, as war was ahead of us. 
Instead of the boys becoming low-spirited we 
were merrier than ever; to us the affair was 
more than ever nothing but "The Great Ad- 
venture." 

At the Island of Lemnos we disembarked and 
shipped away again within a couple of hours in 
British Men-o'-war to the Peninsular, which 
point we made at midnight. To land troops on 
an unknown coast at the dead of night with 



70 On Three Battle Fronts 70 

no lights to guide them was impossible, so the 
landing was set for five in the morning. Little 
did we dream what lay before us. 

At the appointed hour everything was in 
readiness; soldiers were in battle order, every 
man carrying a week's supply of rations, 250 
rounds of ammunition, wire cutters and other 
necessary equipment. These wire cutters came 
in very handy later, as we shall see. 

As the British Men-o'-war moved in towards 
the coast the fire from the Turkish batteries 
commenced; the British battleships returned the 
fire whenever a battery was located and once 
this was accomplished a few shots put the same 
out of commission permanently. Shells were 
flying in all directions, bursting, splashing and 
screaming over our heads, making in all a dam- 
nable noise as our own guns returned the fire. 
To a casual eye it certainly would appear that a 
landing was impossible, but those boys nobly ac- 
complished the impossible. 

Our Officers now ordered us to enter the 
small boats, which were being lowered over the 
side of the ships (there were hundreds of them 
rowed by bluejackets) ; and as each boat was 
loaded with its full complement of about 18 




Anzac Cove — Scene of the Historic Landing. 




An Example of - Intense Turkish Fire During Landing 

Operations 



71 From Egypt to Gallipoli 71 

men, It would start off in the direction of the 
Turkish shore a couple of hundred yards dis- 
tant. As the land was neared the hotter grew 
the fire from the Turks batteries and machine 
guns high up on the cliffs that rose practically 
from the water's edge. What chance In the 
face of such odds had we of making good? But 
the orders were to be obeyed by disciplined men 
at the cost even of life Itself, and on and on 
came the little boats with their loads of human 
freight making an excellent target for the 
enemy's machine gunners. Boats were struck 
by shells and capsized, men were falling, dead 
In their boats stricken by the Turkish rifle fire, 
whilst other boats losing both oars and oarsmen 
were floating helplessly about. It was a sorry 
spectacle, but It steeled the hearts of those 
whom fate still spared, and on and on came 
those little boats, defying death In the manner 
of the Australian. 

It was now my turn to go over In a small 
boat. Hand over hand we dropped into the 
boat and shoved off from the battleship. "Splt- 
splt-splt-splt" and at my side a comrade hung 
his head as If bent In prayer. He was sleeping 
for the last time and before he had even sighted 



72 On Three Battle Fronts 72 

anything but smoke from the Turkish batteries 
located away up on the hill. We could not 
stop to attend to him, but on we went, whilst 
around us fell the hail from the machine guns. 

Our boat now slowed in its course; we had 
lost an oarsman, and the water was pouring 
through the punctures made by the rifle fire. 
Slim indeed were our chances, but yet, out there 
ahead of us some of our comrades were actual- 
ly stepping from their boats on to Turkish soil. 
As fast as they left their boats it was hand to 
hand fighting to maintain their foothold, and 
at times it looked as if the entire Australian 
contingent were doomed to death. But what 
military theory or strength of numbers can con- 
quer the might of spirited men who know that 
right is on their side? 

The shells were flying now in all directions, 
but still we were making progress; a landing 
had actually been made by a few boat-loads, 
and God; how those boys fought the unspeak- 
able Turks in hand-to-hand battles. Australia 
is noted for her two-fisted fighters, but where 
did the like of these battles ever occur. 

The boat I am In is now nearing the land. 
I leap overboard and meet an obstruction. My 



73 From Egypt to Gallipoli 73 

feet are pinned to the bottom; they are tangled 
in barbed wire strung beneath the water, I stand 
helpless and despairing when, suddenly I re- 
member my wire cutters and in a moment I am 
free and quite ready to stick those dark skinned 
chaps at the first possible opportunity. I look 
around and find quite a number of boats have 
made the landing. There we are, in a small 
band, but this is no time for taking account of 
numbers, and off we go in the direction of one 
of their trenches in high spirits to give them 
a taste of our steel. Rifles meet and rifles 
speak, and steel clashes on steel; the fight is 
bloody and the Turks fall before us. Still I am 
breathing and with a whole skin except for a 
few small scratches made by the barbed wire. 
I run to the aid of a tight-cornered pal and bowl 
over a couple of Turks, not, however, before 
my pal is brought to his knees. On and on goes 
the hand-to-hand fighting. The Turks are not 
so well drilled with the bayonet as we, and we 
meet them in a goodly style. We round them 
up from the immediate shore and push them 
back one by one; we gradually work them up 
the hill and clean them up as we go along so as 
to make the landing safer for our comrades. 



74 On Three Battle Fronts 74 

At times it looked as if the boys were all going 
under, but the small boats keep coming to the 
aid of those already ashore, and we still fight 
on determinedly. The undertaking has been 
commenced and it is to be finished at any cost. 
Finally a few hundred have effected a landing 
at terrific cost. The Turks retire into their 
strong trenches and wait for us to root them out 
while their snipers on the cliffs pick off our men 
from every direction. Now the empty boats 
are returning for their second and third loads 
of men. What a thrill it gives one to really 
feel oneself at last a soldier — confident and de- 
termined under any circumstances. The man 
comes into full possession of his body, the mean 
qualities disappear and he feels as though he 
is a giant with a just cause and a just God view- 
ing his actions from on high. 

Now we avail ourselves of any shelter that 
offers till more of the boys can join us to make 
a charge against the Turkish trenches. 

The sun is gradually going down, and we are 
not sorry for the promise of rest that night 
brings with it. Men lie about in all positions — 
the wounded, the dying, the dead — there being 
no Red Cross stretcher bearers to carry them 



75 From Egypt to Galllpoli 75 

away, and again our hearts are steeled for the 
fight on the morrow. 

At dawn we were Officered after a fashion, 
and ready to give these infidels Hell on earth. 
During the night certain of the more venture- 
some Turks had crawled out and mutilated 
some of the wounded and the dead by cutting 
off the heads, disemboweling their victims, and 
so arranging the corpses that their faces were 
looking out of their stomachs; and usually the 
body was conspicuously placed in a sitting pos- 
ture facing our line. We never dreamed such 
horrors would be ; from now on it was war to 
the death. 

During the night we removed most of the 
barbed wire entanglements from the immediate 
vicinity of the shore so as to enable the man- 
drawn guns to be landed on the morrow, and at 
daybreak men stripped to the waist were draw- 
ing our guns ashore. Sixty men usually consti- 
tuted the man power for conducting this ope- 
ration whilst shot and shell screamed and sang 
overhead and all around. 

Here General Bridges, Commander-in-Chief 
of the Australians lost his life whilst conduct- 
ing operations from his battleship. 



76 On Three Battle Fronts 76 

On and on the battle raged throughout the 
long hours of that day. From our batteries 
we were now able to return the fire of the Turks 
with some effect and ever more the big guns of 
the battleships played havoc with the land bat- 
teries, which went up in smoke as fast as they 
were located. Well might the Turks quiver 
under their little red caps! Machine gun fire 
was now continuous, and the atmosphere was 
rent with its chattering till one forgot what 
really caused the noise, only to find its deadly 
arms clutching at a nearby comrade. Casualties 
were still climbing, but with cool heads and clean 
bodies we had hope ; many were confident of ad- 
vancing and cleaning up the nests of machine 
guns and snipers. 

The sun went down; our eyelids were heavy 
with sleep. It was then, at the weary end of 
the second day, that a sneaking Turkish sniper 
slew my brother. Near by he lay — dead. Only 
a couple of days ago we were together — happy. 
There must be some mistake about it! It seem- 
ed incredible. Throughout the long and dreary 
night the fire from the Turkish machine guns 
and batteries never ceased. Sleep was impos- 
sible — would have been still impossible had we 



77 From Egypt to Gallipoli 77 

lain on feather beds instead of blankets thrown 
over the rocks; and, on the next morning ouf 
men were weary and worn of body but un- 
daunted of spirit and stout of heart to meet the 
Turk. 

Shortly before 8 o'clock on this morning I 
buried my young brother — buried him as best 
I could — without shroud or ceremony, sacra- 
ment or prayer — save the silent prayers of my 
own heart, aching with the loss of the 19 year 
old lad who had paid the supreme sacrifice in 
so noble a manner. 

We were now preparing to further our gains 
when — "ping;" and my right leg felt a little 
itchy. We were forming for battle when I 
found myself becoming faint, and on examining 
my leg I found a very severe bleeding was tak- 
ing place. Not having any way of attending 
my wound I gradually became weaker and 
weaker from loss of sleep and blood. The 
wound was a ragged one made apparently by 
a piece of shrapnel. Whatever it was, the 
piece of steel did not stay with me but con- 
tinued on its errand. 

I must soon have become unconscious and 
remained so for some time, for the next thing 



78 On Three Battle Fronts 78 

I remember was the sight of a deckhead on 
board ship. An attendant informed me that I 
was due for hospital; and when I asked per- 
mission to take a little exercise, I was politely 
but frankly informed that I might be able to 
get on my legs in five or six weeks — not before 
— as I had developed enteric fever. The 
thought that I should not be able to avenge my 
dead brother dawned upon me and I felt as 
though I had not done my duty; so I resolved 
to return to the "bounders" when again fit and 
well. And with this mental resolution I resign- 
ed myself, for the time being, to my fate. 

I was sent to Egypt for treatment and event- 
ually shipped off to Melbourne, Australia, 
along with other bad cases who were consid- 
ered unfit for further active service. 

After passing seven weary weeks on my back 
under doctors' care, I found myself in a con- 
valescent hospital just outside of Melbourne, 
which place I left only to be discharged from 
the army as unfit for further military service. 
I was, I must confess, thin and haggard-look- 
ing but as to the big fight — that was to me just 
a question of time, and I would surely find my 



79 From Egypt to Gallipoli 79 

way back across the Indian Ocean through the 
canal and up to Gallipoli. 

I spent a couple of months among my rela- 
tives in Victoria, Australia, hoping to pick up 
my former vim and pep, but the fever had 
taken too much out of me according to the mili^ 
tary doctors who again refused my services in 
any military capacity, and I hung my head and 
walked slowly from their presence. 

Before I go further, let me say a word about 
the origin of "ANZAC" for there seems to be 
some confusion on this point. 

When the first contingent of picked men sail- 
ed from Egypt for Gallipoli, its commander. 
Gen. Bridges, was asked to give a code word 
by which it might be designated in telegraph 
dispatches. The name of this body of about 
30,000 men was "Australia - New Zealand 
Army Corps," and the code word given by 
Gen. Bridges was made up of the initial letters 
in this name; thus, "A-N-Z-A-C." Such is the 
origin of the name commonly given to all Aus- 
tralian Soldiers but properly applied only to 
these particular troops. 



Our Task 

We march along the roads of France 
Aligned with trees — in war's advance — 
While in the fields, the poppies red 
Proclaim abroad the blood we shed. 

We whistle songs of "Home Sweet Home" 
Resolved we nevermore shall roam 
But in the wheat, the cornflowers blue 
Nodded to us, "Be true, be true." 

The bombs come down, the shells explode 
The bullets whistle o'er the road. 
Though filled with fear, the daisy white 
Whispers to us, "Our cause is Right." 

Tho' men may bleed and men may die 
With gun and bayonet we try 
To win the war to which we're led 
Encouraged e'en by poppy red. 

So ever on, with ideals high 
We press our cause e'n though we die 
And though we sleep in graves made new 
O'er us may blow the cornflower blue. 

When smoke of battle clears away 
And peace o'er all the world holds sway 
Whenever God will send the light 
"Our cause was just" shouts daisy white. 
Andrew D. Robb, Captain. 

The above was written in a dug-out in Picardy and pre- 
sented to Private Howard. This is the first publication 
of these lines. 



Revenge 

It was, I confess, revenge pure and simple 
that prompted me again to entertain the Idea of 
fighting — anyone of the German-ruled coun- 
tries would appease my appetite for avenging 
the loss of my young brother. The Australian 
Government had refused me ; the only possible 
way I could see of overcoming the difficulty was 
to journey to the States and make a fresh start. 

I was sauntering lazily around the piers look- 
ing over the various transport boats, and as I had 
previously been in America I was attracted by 
the sight of the Stars and Stripes hanging over 
the stern of a five-masted schooner in graceful 
lines. I thought that here might be a possibility 
of getting away to the United States, so I in- 
terviewed a red-headed ruffian, who, upon 
throwing out his chest and thrusting his thumbs 
in the arm holes of his vest, said in a deep bass 
voice that he was the Skipper of the schooner. 
In reply to my request for a job he said '^Bring 
your clothes on board right away." That after- 
noon I signed on as an able-bodied seaman be- 
fore the mast, although I knew very little about 



82 On Three Battle Fronts 82 

sea life with its hundred and one duties peculiar 
to life on a schooner. The next morning we 
sailed away down the bay and headed for 
America on a 70 day trip — as the Captain reck- 
oned; but alas, 104 days had passed before our 
trim schooner, "Mini," sighted the Pacific 
Coast line. 

All went well on this trip till we passed through 
the Straits between the North and South Islands 
of New Zealand, when up came a hurricane and 
we were tossed at the mercy of the wind and 
wave till Cape Pigeons was sighted. That meant 
that we were hundreds of miles out of our 
course. 

I have ridden wild horses more than once, but 
the Mini had everything wild and vicious beaten 
out of sight for bucking and tossing, stalling and 
jumping and side-stepping and every other kind 
of untamed motion. With the sails reefed 
down to nothing and the gale howling through 
the ropes and rattlings she would actually 
''shoot the chutes." If we had put sail out, and 
had her masts been sufficiently strong to with- 
stand the strain. I believe she would 
have been transformed into a flying ship. 
She was more often under water than 



83 Revenge 83 

not, and if she did not have the port 
or starboard deck awash, for weeks on end, 
it was a fact worth recording in the log book. 
Naturally, as we were 34 days overdue, our 
food supply after a while began failing. Now, 
instead of languishing in a hospital I was begin- 
ning to get thin at sea — my face felt lean to the 
touch under my neglected heavy black beard. 
After passing over the line with comparative 
ease we were becalmed. Fortunately fish were 
plentiful and there was a goodly supply of tackle 
on board. Had it not been for these fish, — well, 
it's fisherman's luck to catch plenty when he 
really starts in — in earnest, and we did not 
starve. Every time passing showers came our 
way we would catch as much water as possible 
and with a strict rule that no more than a pint 
of water per man per day was to be used, we 
managed till we arrived at Aberdeen in the 
State of Washington. This trip was sufficient 
to convince me that sea-faring existence is not 
intended for a man raised out in the great out- 
doors of Australia. I had no intention of ever 
making the return trip if only I should set foot 
again safely on U. S. territory; and on collecting 
my pay, I waved a fond farewell to the little 



84 On Three Battle Fronts 84 

schooner of the graceful lines, and to a sea 
voyage that had taken years off my life. 

My "Health Resort" 

The last 104 days had undoubtedly improved 
my nerves but in other ways it had robbed me 
of some of my vim, and not being up to the 
Canadian Army standard I decided to have a 
little taste of life out in the logging camps 
where the sunbeams play in the tall timbers 
along in the slopes of the Western coast. 

I was an Australian still, and naturally "held 
dead" the methods of bush life of my home- 
land. The first morning I commenced work 
considerable amusement was caused because of 
my short grip of the axe, and to this was added 
another disadvantage because in Australia a 
single blade is used whereas out in this camp 
double blade axes were universal. I was dubbed 
a "new chum" at this business, but after a 
couple of hours of work it was seen that I was 
getting away with the job in a creditable man- 
ner, and after that I was never embarrassed by 
looking up and finding a husky gazing amusedly 
at me and my methods. 



85 Revenge 85 

The only recreation these great big-hearted, 
fine fellows had was cards, and money being 
rather scarce, the coin was "socks." It seemed 
strange to be always gambling for an article of 
general use, and I have seen some men with 50 
and 60 pairs of expensive woolen socks. These 
garments cost about 70c per pair, and if one 
man chose to leave the place he cashed in his 
checks (socks) to a Secretary and the value of 
them was added to his pay roll when he was 
heading for the big city. It was on record that 
the Superintendent of this logging camp first 
instituted the idea of gambling for socks, but 
from whatever source it came, it was a bril- 
liant idea and prevented the men from becom- 
ing penniless as only a limited number of pairs 
were in circulation. Every logger in that camp 
had good socks besides having other clothing 
which cost originally as much as a gentleman's 
purchased at some of the leading stores on Fifth 
Avenue, New York. 

I was rapidly improving in health in the 
great outdoors; so when I judged myself to 
be physically fit I decided to have a little holi- 
day along the Pacific Coast where I chanced 



86 On Three Battle Fronts 86 

to meet some Australians, and after seeing the 
sights of Sunny California, I returned to 
Seattle, Washington, and crossed the border to 
Canada. On presenting myself as a Gallipoli 
survivor, I was given the glad hand, and in a 
few minutes I was proclaimed physically fit and 
clothed in a khaki uniform. 

From Coast to Coast 

Now I was in the nth Canadian Mounted 
Rifles — once again with the good horses, and 
being sufficiently well trained in the arts of war- 
fare, I was sent away on the long overland 
journey to Halifax, Nova Scotia, two days after 
my arrival in Vancouver. 

In order to arouse the patriotism of the Can- 
adians still enjoying civil life we were paraded 
up the main streets headed by a couple of bands 
at the principal cities through which we passed. 
Flags flew everywhere and at each town or city 
the boys were laden down with hampers and 
baskets containing all the home delicacies from 
sandwiches to maple syrup. If the "slacker" of 
the Empire or of this country could march in 
a few of those Canadian scenes, his heart would 



87 Revenge 87 

soon cast out the idea that this war was not for 
him. My pen fails to do justice to the kind- 
ness extended to us along the whole of our 
thirteen-day journey to Halifax. 

At the town of Golden, away up in the Can- 
adian Rockies, a snow slide occurred and it was 
because of this that such an unusual time was 
taken in crossing from coast to coast. 

Halifax was reached at last, but owing to 
the delay en route we missed our transport and 
so had to wait one week in the Nova Scotian 
city, where, I might here record, I was known 
a little because I had previously roamed to this 
corner of the world. I renewed old acquaint- 
ances and when our week's spell had expired 
orders came that we were to be loaded at five in 
the morning on a transport lying at a nearby 
pier. 

How the scenes of my first experience aboard 
the Australian transport came back to me when 
we drew away from the pier and into a veil of 
mist just rising from the harbor; how well I 
knew the conditions under which we would sleep 
and eat and go through setting up exercises on 
a few square feet of deck space when the con- 
ditions were suitable. On this trip, however. 



88 On Three Battle Fronts 88 

the sea-gods were good to us, for most of the 
time the deck was drenched with spray from a 
head-sea, which, of course, none of us resented. 

Many concerts were given to pass away the 
hours on this crowded ship, and it did not mat- 
ter at what hour, for there was always an 
audience — even for the amateurs game enough 
to try their skill with an operatic air or an im- 
personation of Caruso with a severe cold. But 
they were not all amateurs. Among the men 
on board were representatives of all the arts 
and crafts; and it seemed strange to find gifted 
musicians rubbing elbows with us as privates, 
and other men talented in various spheres, 
hidden in a private's uniform. 

Owing to the submarine menace all men were 
ordered to don their life buoys when on deck, 
and it was a strange sight to see everyone so 
prepared for disaster. The life-belts were not 
of the common circular type or there would not 
have been sufficient room on the ship to carry 
the soldiers, but were made of flat pieces of 
cork covered with canvas which fitted around 
the body. 

On the eighth day out a speck on the horizon 
told the men that land was at hand, and it later 



89 Revenge 89 

proved to be a bit of the smoky city of Liverpool. 
All eyes were eagerly turned towards the little 
speck of England, when right off our starboard 
bow, up popped a submarine, and in another 
minute there were two of the "tin fish" moving 
about, and my heart beat a tatoo against my 
ribs. The Captain's face, however, shewed no 
signs of alarm, the mates moved about as usun* 
and in a moment the "subs" disappeared from 
view to the great satisfaction of all concerned. 

Liverpool is a city where the smoke never 
rises — at least, so it seems, and the first peep 
of England was disappointing, as I think is al- 
most any land viewed from along the water 
front. 

Our ship was swung into a wharf and no 
sooner had we arrived than the men commenced 
to file off with their full equipment. The horses 
were unloaded and presently everything was in 
readiness for departure and we entrained with 
many speculations as to our unknown destina- 
tion. 

The scenery was now that of rural England 
with its delightful country lanes and quaint cot- 
tages and flower gardens. Rumors were afloat 
— rumors that came from the major through 



90 On Three Battle Fronts 90 

a sick man who heard him talking to a sergeant 
who told the cook confidentially of our move- 
ments — that we were going to Kent, and for 
once rumor was correct. 

We were now surely in Kent — the land of 
the hop fields — and at last we were ordered to 
leave the train. 

The English Training 

The Zeps now came before my eyes for the 
first time in their deadly work of dropping 
bombs over London and the surrounding 
suburbs. I had not dreamed of the seriousness 
of the Zep raids whilst in Australia, the United 
States or Canada, but now it was right with 
me, and I could no longer think of it as occur- 
ring thousands of miles away. I had actually 
been in the war and seen service on two fronts 
but never before had I realized the meaning of 
the word "Zep." Newspaper reports were 
anxiously awaited, giving particulars of the 
latest raid and the deaths resulting therefrom; 
these always seemed to include some poor help- 
less women and little children. So frequent 
were these raids that one could not help being 



91 Revenge 91 

concerned about them, despite the fact that thou- 
sands were dying weekly on the western battle- 
fields across the Channel in France. On the 
first occasion when I got leave from this camp 
down in Kent, I decided to go to London and 
view some of the work of these cowardly ma- 
chines which crawl overhead in the still hours 
on moonless nights. 

I arrived in London on a Monday morning, 
and that night, when all was dark, sure enough 
the Zep warning was sounded. Then followed 
terrific explosions apparently close at hand. 
Windows were smashed in by the concussion 
and houses rocked on their foundations. Ex- 
plosions followed at regular intervals ; each one 
a little farther away than the previous one. 

The next morning I arose early, having in 
mind to view the destruction wrought by these 
Infernal machines, and after inquiring as to the 
direction of the ruins I had no difficulty In soon 
locating them. For hundreds of yards around, 
the windows were smashed In and the side- 
walks littered with broken glass, so I judged that 
I was quite close to the scene of the explosion. 
I had just turned around the next block when 
my eyes met a sorrowful sight — women and 



92 On Three Battle Fronts 92 

children huddled together in the street watching 
their homes going up in fire. It was too pathetic 
for a Canadian pal and myself so we did not 
remain long in that section of the city where 
fire was destroying the homes of the poor, and 
it was uncertain whether missing husbands and 
fathers had been burned to death in the catas- 
trophe. 

All over London there seemed to be thou- 
sands of men from all parts of the world crip- 
pled for life, but what was worst of all were 
the cases of liquid fire victims and gas cases. 
The loss of a limb meant fair fighting, so it 
seemed, but those poor fellows who suffered 
the tortures of Hell itself when sprayed with 
liquid fire made pity and hatred flame within 
me at once, and I resolved to add their cause to 
that of my dead brother when I got a chance at 
the Hun on the battlefields across the Channel. 

For the first time there stirred in my heart 
the consciousness of an unconquerable purpose 
spurring me on to the greatest efforts, and I re- 
turned to the training fields "way down in 
Kent" with my blood at the boiling point — per- 
manently; and if these men could teach me any- 
thing in modern war tactics which would help 



93 Revenge 93_^ 

to stop the Hun, I resolved, I was the man to 
learn it — to master it and put it into execution. 
I did not want any further leave to see the 
sights; it was not a time to seek pleasure or 
visit interesting points in the old city of Lon- 
don ; I only craved and waited for an opportun- 
ity which could best be brought about by my 
own hard work. 

New drills and instruction in the very latest 
war tactics were daily developing, and it was 
here that I learned the many tricks in bayonet- 
ing that afterwards proved so useful. Throw- 
ing bombs, machine gun practice and intensive 
training occupied much of our time at Kent, and 
I never tired of the instructions demonstrating 
the use of the butt of the rifle to "chin" an op- 
ponent, nor of practicing the stabbing of imag- 
inary Huns to the accompaniment of an Offi- 
cer's yelling, "In, out, on guard." To stick a 
Hun with a bayonet does not necessarily call for 
a severe thrust — three or four inches of steel 
usually proves sufficient to do the "good work." 
In the first actual fighting the novice usually 
thrusts his bayonet right through his opponent, 
which means that the bayonet becomes fastened, 
and this leaves him without a weapon to at- 



94 On Three Battle Fronts 94 

tack another enemy at hand or to defend him- 
self from attack. Well did our instructors teach 
this bayonet play, and before very long I be- 
came quite accomplished with the bayonet. 
Bayonet work is a combination of Japanese 
wrestling, sword duelling and boxing. Ohe 
must have quick and light feet together with the 
nimbleness and sharp eyes of the eagle — and 
then "Kamerad" is heard on all sides when 
once over in the German trenches. 

By this time I had undergone a very lengthy 
and complete period of training, was "as fit as 
a fiddle,*' and having graduated from the novice 
class of bayonet men — men whose slowness was 
due to their not having yet seen a Zep raid on 
London, I thought — I was picked out along 
with two hundred other Canadians as efficiently 
trained in the modern war methods, and al- 
though not knowing exactly our destination, our 
hearts were filled with glee because something 
was going to happen to take us away from the 
training grounds in Kent and possibly across to 
France immediately. 

Our Fate was not as we would have moulded 
it, however, for we received a further final pol- 
ish in Kent, in the science and practice of bomb- 



95 Revenge 95_ 

Ing parties, scouting duties and the latest meth- 
ods of "going over the top;" and now we were 
full of information from head to foot and, be- 
lieve me, there Is something for Mr. Rookie to 
learn before he ever gets an opportunity to try- 
out his gas mask '*Over There." 



Off for the Front 

Orders, orders, orders — I hear them yet In 
my sleep and awake from my dreams with the 
thought of them. This time it was ''Fall In 
the 200 picked men and prepare for your de- 
parture." France at last; the dreamed-of pos- 
sibilities of mastering the Hun, in reality was 
at hand. 

The anticipations of one "over there" are 
usually reversed. When we packed our kits 
and went the rounds farewelling Canadian pals 
we expected to step right into a communication 
trench and crawl under the barbed wire en- 
tanglements, but anticipation far outranges 
realization. 

After much excitement we were ready to de- 
part and as the order "Forward, march," was 
shouted the regimental band struck up, "The 



g6 On Three Battle Fronts 96 

Girl I Left Behind Me," and we stepped out 
with added vim and pep — anxious to become 
real soldiers. 

We all marched to the station in high spirits 
and took the train to Southampton where most 
of our last three-penny or six-penny coins were 
spent purchasing '"alf-and-'alf." The whole 
city seemed to be backing us up in spirit and 
a small army of mothers and sisters and small 
brothers were present to give an affectionate 
send-off to the departing boys. Through a 
quarter of a mile of warehouses adjoining the 
dock, and single file during the latter stage of 
our march we came to a kind of cage into which 
the men were marched. It certainly was a cage 
and from it none guilty could escape. It was 
here that a final examination was conducted, 
sufficiently strict, you may be sure, to trap the 
wisest spy or combination of spies. There was 
not a possibility of going through this man cage 
unless one furnished a correct history of oneself. 
A few of the 200 boys in question were not up 
to the mark with their replies and so were left 
behind. 

We were again pushing away from the dock 
when on looking around we ascertained the fact 



97 Revenge 97 

that other picked men from various camps in 
England were with us. 

The trip across the channel, always a de- 
lightful experience for the many holidayers in 
pre-war days, was most uneventful. France was 
now our destination for sure, although members 
of our party would bet to the contrary on the 
theory that the War Office always reverses 
things. This time, however, the cynics lost out, 
for we pulled into Boulogne, and for the first 
time in the lives of many of us our eyes gazed 
upon French soil. An awful stillness, a certain 
deadness, seemed to be hovering over the whole 
place, and I wanted to know where were the 
hysterical French that one is so accustomed to 
reading about. Why, they were stoics! They 
seemed unmoved by our arrival — perhaps they 
were too stubborn to admit of happiness and 
too much in earnest to waste time in welcoming 
us to their strange land. So we went into camp 
again in a town in France. 

This camp life was pretty monotonous, and 
I had really begun to sicken of it in England, 
but on coming across the Channel and hearing 
the booming of big guns I was temporarily 



98 On Three Battle Fronts 98 

cheered. This camp, however, was about the 
last straw to me. 

It was here that the Ross Rifle of Canada 
was taken from us and replaced with the Lee- 
Enfield, which is considerably lighter and bet- 
ter fitted for trench warfare. Our beautiful 
leather was replaced with web equipment, and 
gas masks were given out to us. These gas 
masks were of the latest type. Steel helmets 
were also handed out and at last we felt ready 
in all respects for the trenches, but not too sure, 
for one could not be certain of what that War 
Office in London was likely to do. Now we 
were actually placed in the trenches — trenches 
miles and miles behind the firing lines for prac- 
ticing under so called realistic conditions. This 
brought into play the use of gas, tear shells, 
bomb-throwing and many other details of actual 
trench life. We would charge over No Man's 
Land quite fearless of the enemy and bayonet 
the dummy Germans on the other side a thou- 
sand times a day. 



The Battle of the Somme 

The Somme — the bloodiest of all battles that 
the world has known up to this time was the 
earthquake that rocked the German Empire 
and demonstrated to the world the irresistible 
power of the men of the British Empire. Little 
is known by the great newspaper-reading public 
of the battlefield bathed in blood around the 
Somme fronts, as it is customary for the Home 
Office In London to remain quiet, but to con- 
vince readers of the indomitable courage of the 
men on the Somme I cannot do better than rec- 
ommend, the reading of a captured document 
compiled by a great German Strategist in the 
person of General Von Armin wherein he re- 
cords his views during the first month of the 
Great Somme battle. In this historical state- 
ment the General paints a melancholy scene 
amounting in all to chaos — item by Item of their 
great cumbersome war machine was weighed In 
the balance and found wanting as their im- 
pregnable positions one by one were sacrificed. 
General Von Armin only deals with the oper- 
ations of the first month and it does not re- 



lOO On Three Battle Fronts lOO 

quire pages of explanation to describe the con- 
ditions existing during the remaining seven 
months as the Somme line was undergoing 
extreme pressure during this period. This 
battle was one of the turning points in this Great 
War and the immensity of the operations is 
beyond description. 

For many months the strategists of the Allies 
were preparing for this monstrous blow which 
disturbed the German morale and tarnished 
their discipline. 

The strategical objectives of the Somme of- 
fensive were many but the chief ones can be 
stated in a few brief sentences. 

To relieve the extreme pressure upon the 
French at Verdun was absolutely essential, and 
because of the Somme victories hundreds of 
thousands of German troops were taken from 
the Verdun front and hurriedly despatched to 
the Somme in order to curb our advances. 

To demonstrate the great and growing pow- 
ers of the British armies at this time was deem- 
ed essential, and the impregnable positions of 
the Germans which were reinforced by Nature 
fell one after the other to the great amazement 
of the German Staff, and in this way the higher 



loi The Battle of the Somme loi 



ground was gained and securely held. 

Outside of these two great factors the weak- 
ening of the German morale deserves mention 
as from this time on the slave-soldier of Ger- 
many began to realize that his cause was lost 
irretrievably. 

The perfecting of barrage-fire was also car- 
ried out on the Somme front, and from the ist 
of July, 19 1 6, onward, the Germans have ceas- 
ed boasting of their genius of organization and 
they are astounded by the advancement made 
by the "contemptible little army" which set out 
to crush the German giant. We were from this 
time on equal to the Germans in guns, ammuni- 
tion, men, skill and organization and I believe 
at this date the British Army has not reached 
its highest point of efficiency. 

The supremacy of the air was definitely es- 
tablished and on very few occasions were Ger- 
man machines able to come over our lines de- 
spite the fact that our aerial squadron made 
thousands of flights well behind the German 
front lines. 

To describe my arrival on the Somme front 
would be impossible, because my unit on com- 
ing over from England made the journey from 



102 On Three Battle Fronts 102 

the French coast to the Somme front during the 
night, and after disembarking from the train 
"somewhere in France" we were marched in 
the direction of the battlefield illuminations far 
away on the horizon under the guidance of 
scouts. It was a spectacular scene to watch the 
grandeur of the lighting effects as we were 
drawing nearer to that Hell, with its indescrib- 
able noises which rip the atmosphere and sweep 
about in great tornadoes. There was one con- 
tinual roar of guns ; with each variety bellowing 
its particular noise. Far in the distance separ- 
ate batteries firing salvoes could be distinctly 
heard and it seemed as if great iron doors were 
being banged nearby. Other shells screamed as 
they rushed madly on their death-dealing errand 
and the constant tatoo of the light field pieces 
helped the panorama before our eyes and into 
which we were going. The illuminating effects, 
with colors ranging between old rose and yel- 
low, were extraordinary and were ever chang- 
ing as the huge banks of smoke curled and 
lashed the very heavens. The air seemed full 
of gases, shells, fire, and moans; and as we 
stumbled on and on each man muttered not a 
word but all were wrapt in thought as to when 



103 The Battle of the Somme 103 

their turn would come. Sometimes we seemed 
to be in a sunken road, then in a trench and 
again on the level but whether it was the effect of 
the extraordinary shell fire I know not and at 
the time I cared less. My thoughts drifted 
homewards, but duty must be done and on we 
marched till we were deep in a communication 
trench and once in this, it was impossible to see 
over the top except where a stray German shell 
had chanced to drop. This communication 
trench must have reached for some considerable 
distance, or else it meandered about to deceive 
the Germans, because when we reached the end 
of it we were right in the front lines and now 
the fire from the German batteries seemed to 
rake every square yard of the ground. The 
trench was battered down anfi as fast as it 
was repaired other shells would destroy it, 
and on and on the monotonous work proceeded. 
Our duties at this time were chiefly to relieve 
front line men and be in readiness for German at- 
tacks, and we were all resigned to whatever fate 
had in store for us. Many of the new men were 
now bleeding from shell fire whilst others were 
already dead — dead before even getting a shot 
at the bestial Hun "over the way." We did 



104 On Three Battle Fronts 104 

not have to wait long for action and conse- 
quently we were not afforded much time to learn 
the nature of the country ahead of us as it 
meant suicide to put one's head above the para- 
pet, even for a second. 

Days of bombardment followed, and then 
orders reached us that we were to go over the 
top and take "Monkey Farm," which we were 
told lay directly ahead of us. Both the British 
and Australian troops had failed to take this 
point and when the opportunity was given to 
the Canadians they gladly accepted of it and in 
a most spectacular bayonet charge the position 
was carried and the Canadians had another 
feather due to them; for the gallantry of these 
noble boys was never seen to better advantage 
than on this occasion when the Huns were com- 
pletely routed with the cold bright steeel which 
they fear so much. 

The capturing of the Distillery in this region 
was another of those brilliant local victories. 
This building was used by the Germans for var- 
ious purposes, and when it fell into our hands 
the Germans lost a fine observation post and 
consequently were forced back onto ground less 
suitable for defensive operations. 



105 The Battle of the Somme 105 

It was on September 15th, at the taking of 
Corsalette, that the British tanks made their 
first appearance on the battlefields in France 
and it was because of these that the Germans 
reeled under the spell of surprise. The troops 
accompanying the tanks marched behind them 
in a new battle formation perfected by the 
French, and as the deadly machines waddled 
along over the shell torn ground the boys be- 
hind watched carefully the effectiveness of the 
new instrument of death designed by the Brit- 
ish. The character of the ground over which 
they were traveling saved them from shell fire 
because they were first high in the air and later 
were almost out of sight as they were crawling 
along the bed of a huge shell crater — ^but never 
did they stop in their course no matter what ob- 
stables were placed in their path. On reaching 
the barbed wire I personally thought that the 
tanks would be in difficulties but to my surprise 
the camouflaged monsters just went ahead as 
if all was well, and when the first German 
trench was reached the tank ahead of me 
crawled over it and halted in the midst of a 
multitude of frightened Germans and bursting 
shells. The whole atmosphere was full of 



io6 On Three Battle Fronts io6 

smoke and a general haze seemed to envelope 
the work of the tanks. Germans In great num- 
bers would now attack the tank and adopt all 
kinds of methods in order to stop its work but 
when the machine guns had cleared the im- 
mediate surroundings of Huns, the crew on the 
inside left-wheeled the tank and down the 
trench she went spitting death to every German 
in sight from the various guns operated by the 
crews. The sight of dying and dead Huns after 
the passage of the tanks is something to remem- 
ber even to an old hand in the game of killing. 
Any Germans who escaped death from the 
fire from the tanks were immediately taken 
care of by the boys following in the new walk- 
ing formation. 

The Germans, realizing the hopelessness of 
their efforts against the tanks, were all excited 
and yelling in their strongest voice "Kamme- 
rad" but I feel that little mercy was shown them, 
as they adopt Red Cross and surrendering 
capers every day in order to catch the soldiers 
of the Allies. On the aerial men observing suf- 
ficient evidence to show that a general surrender 
was really meant, word was sent to the artillery 



loy The Battle of the Somme 107 

and the raining of our shells ceased in this par- 
ticular section of the Hun trenches. 

The objective in this move was Corsalette and 
just as we were reaching our goal I reeled over 
with a dizzy singing noise in my ears and I 
found myself actually lying on the ground and 
unable to get up, but I could not for the moment 
ascertain exactly the cause of this. I did not 
have to wait long, however, for I immediately 
felt the flow of warm blood over my chest and 
on looking down I observed where a bullet had 
pierced my uniform and entered my shoulder. 
On realizing my position I felt disappointed in 
not observing the fall of Corsalette under the 
good work of the tanks which will ever remain 
in my mind as the greatest surprise the German 
soldiers ever will get prior to their Kaiser 
suing for peace sometime in the future. 



"Over the Top'' 



Stand and Wait 

Stand and Wait 

The cold mud grips like the hand of fate. 

The reeking ditch, like an open grave 

Is there for the body they'll say you gave, 

Gave like a hero for God and King! 

Stand and Wait 

Stand and Wait 

A scuttling rat seeks hideous bait. 

Does he snijff for the body you'll dearly sell 

To speed the soul of a Hun to hell — 

Sell like a Berserk to crush "The Thing"? 

Stand -and Wait 

Stand and Wait 

A Bird in the lost-land calls its mate. 

See ! Out there is the road at home 

The kiddies are waving their Dad to come! 

God ! Gone ! There is nothing but mud and death. 

Stand and Wait 

Stand and Wait 

A pal curses soft that the signal's late. 

Sick and dizzy, with flesh acreep 

With reeling head and limbs asleep 

Cringe like a coward and gasp for breath. 

Ah! There she goes! 

The rockets flash, 

Over we go and off with a dash; 

Down in a shell hole to stick a Hun 

Up again and off on the run, 

Your pal's down beside you — 

No time to stop 

He gasps "Give 'em Hell boys" 

God! see 'em drop. 

On to "His" front line, 

Steel to steel — 

A jab in the breast and he's under your heel 

Swing on the next one 

Butt to the head 

Yell like a wild man 

Strike till he's dead. 

Now for the "mop -up" 

Grab for your knife; 

This day, my lad's worth the rest of your life. W. M. 



What It Feels Like to Go Over the 

Top 

Can I put Into words what it feels like to go 
"over the top"? There Is crawling, goosy, 
hungry, sick feeling in the stomach, — a save- 
the-women-and-chlldren and God-help me grip at 
the heart. The fear of breaking down clutches 
and numbs the brain like the Icy hands of a 
grim angel. Have you ever been alone in an 
attic and waiting for your father to come home 
and give you the beating of your life? Did 
you ever see the only girl you could love going 
to the theater with another fellow? Did you 
ever sit (or is it stand) in the dock dumbly 
waiting for the jury to say whether you did or 
you didn't. Well, just roll these delightful sen- 
sations all into one; then plaster a few shovel- 
fulls of sticky, clammy mud around your legs 
and hands (not forgetting to save a little for 
your rifle), finish off neatly with a dash of ice 
and sleet from the North Pole and roll Into 
an assembly trench in front of your own Front 
Line In No Man's Land. This is probably the 



no On Three Battle Fronts no 

feeling you would have when waiting to "go 
over." 

A few centuries pass. You notice such trivial 
things as that your puttees are getting frayed. 
Ah, well, all the easier to get a new pair when 
you go on leave. Leave! God save us! You 
poor miserable microbe, you who talk about 
"leave"; you are just awaiting your execution. 
Ages roll by. Some blasted fool is trying to 
smile ; and what a smile. 

More gloom, more wintry blasts, "more 
deeper depths;" swish, swish, swish — rapidly, 
say half a second apart "there she goes" whisp- 
ers an old hand in your ear; "She's opened up." 
Someone from somewhere makes a sign and in 
almost a second you are actually "Over the 
Top" in No Man's Land with face set towards 
— well, whatever it happens to be. You are 
surprised to find that your blood still circulates, 
that you can leap, crawl and stagger onward, 
forward; and in what seems to be a minute of 
time you are close up to "his" front line. You 
are glad he is putting up a scrap. You flop 
quickly into a shell hole and peep cautiously 
over the edge. You are suddenly conscious 
that your comrades on your right and on your 



Ill How It Feels to Go Over the Top 1 1 1 

left are doing the same. You don't worry; 
there Is no time to worry; you are merely gaug- 
ing your stride for that last leap. Just a minute. 
You are conscious of someone by your side for 
the first time. Why Is he rolling his head 
around In that Idiotic manner as though over- 
come by sleep? He Is grinning; ah, there is a 
hole through his neck! By Jove, it's Jimmy! 
you are not shocked nor grieved, just surprised; 
the shock will come later. You find yourself 
moving again, and everyone else moving along 
the line — also Fritz is moving — and that as fast 
as fear and the first law of nature will carry 
him. Then begins the big hunt — but there's 
another story. The official reports will grand- 
iloquently state that "We advanced on a front 
of etc." The Special War Correspondent will 
submit that our boys "magnificently stormed" 
such and such a place, but if you want it in the 
vernacular of the army you merely "went 
Over the Top." 



A "Cushy Blighty" 

The battle of the Somme had ended as far 
as I was personally concerned when I received 
a "Cushy Blighty" in the shoulder. Casualties 
were occurring at such an awful rate that the 
base hospitals were crammed full. The over- 
flow of patients were sent to "Blighty" — Eng- 
land — and I was among these fortunate ones. 
Had my wound occurred during the Winter 
months I would not have had much of a chance 
to get beyond the base hospitals in France, but 
owing to the extraordinary number of hospital 
cases the hospital system became flooded long 
before the battle in which I was engaged reach- 
ed its highest point. I was sent to No. 4 
Stationery Hospital and from my stretcher the 
chateau where Lord Roberts spent his last hours 
was pointed out to me. From this point I was 
shipped to No. 8 Stationery Hospital at Bou- 
logne, and it was here that I received my 
"Blighty ticket" after my wound had been ex- 
amined and dressed. I was keen enough to ap- 
preciate the fact that I was booked for 



113 A "Cushy Blighty" 113 

"Blighty" and looked forward to the time when 
I would be spending ten whole days of final 
leave In London with nothing but my appetite 
and general wants to bother me. Crossing the 
channel was effected in quick time and I was 
told we sailed without lights because the German 
"subs." have no mercy even for hospital ships 
bearing distinctive signs for the purpose of 
identification, by night as well as by day. Short- 
ly after arrival in Southampton I was on my 
way to Bearwood Hospital which is located be- 
tween Workingham and Redding, England. 
This hospital was originally the mansion be- 
longing to the editor of the London Times, 
but it was leased to the Canadian Government 
for the duration of the war. On entering the 
hospital for preliminary inspection of my wound 
I gleaned enough idea of the mansion to bring 
me back again to civilization and the beauties 
associated with it. A peep at the surroundings 
was sufficient to convince me that I was in an 
earth-paradise where blossoms seemed to send 
forth their fragrance in unlimited quantities. 
The serious cases at this hospital are located in 
the mansion itself, whilst those not so severe are 
located in the huts surrounding the main build- 



114 On Three Battle Fronts 114 

ing and for that reaon I was sent to a hut. I 
considered myself lucky Indeed in ever "making 
the grade" and arriving in *'Blighty." As the 
time went on I was permitted to stroll around at 
ease through the wonderful gardens, the mag- 
nificent chestnut grove and by the beautiful lake 
nestled away among trees, culled from the cold 
climates of the world. I believe that there was 
every plant that I am ever likely to know the 
name of, and it was pleasing to reflect that 
humanity throughout the world was not de- 
stroyed as it was in Northern France and 
Belgium. 

Upon completion of five weeks In this hos- 
pital, I was sent to Epsom Downs Hospital 
for Convalescents, which, by the way, was a 
training station, to again knock the men into 
training after their spell In the various hospitals 
throughout England. 

Prior to leaving this hospital I met hundreds 
of live boys eager for devilment and fun before 
returning to the dreary trench life "over there" ; 
and as we were never permitted to leave the 
grounds without a permit, ( and these were limit- 
ed to two a week), it was interesting to be an 
observer on "off" nights and watch the various 



115 A ^'Cushy Blighty" 115 

dodges adopted by the boys In beating the Mili- 
tary Police and hospital attendants In order to 
attend some function previously arranged by 
some fair visitors. Men apparently fit and 
well and men on crutches would breeze around 
the verandahs and along the bottom fences of 
the garden "just for exercise" when the daylight 
was disappearing, and they Invariably got over 
the boundary line even though it was six feet 
high and they had to always use crutches to 
amble through the wards. I guess we all did 
our share of this leave breaking at night and 
one or two nurses were good sports enough to 
look the other way when a patient was seen 
picking up a bundle of clothes out in the garden 
in order to avoid suspicion when leaving the 
ward for a "little walk." Some times some 
of the boys would be caught and paraded into 
the Superintendent's office the next morning, but 
the "Supts." were usually kindly and they real- 
ized how the boys felt about being penned in 
after being in the trenches for weary months, 
and usually "don't let it occur again" was the 
only reprimand administered to the wanderers. 
It is customary to grant final leave for ten 
days to each Blighty case and believe me all 



ii6 On Three Battle Fronts ii6 

the boys look forward to this long spell "on 
their own hook" which is invariably spent in 
London seeing the sights of the great old city. 
When my time expired for hospital treatment, 
I received a railway ticket and funds to tide me 
over the ten days and I took in as much of the 
big city of London as I possibly could from the 
top of two-penny busses to the depths of two- 
penny tubes. 

Being an Australian I naturally tried to get 
into touch with some Australian boys, so after 
inquiring for the Anzac Club, I was directed to 
Horseferry Road and after a little searching I 
suddenly was reading the words *'Anzac Club" 
on a prominent sign quite close at hand. On 
entering the club I was greeted by the Austral- 
ian accent and felt quite at home on hearing 
an excited Australian exclaim ''Strike me pink" 
and "fair dinkum" in rapid succession during 
his conversation. On looking around the build- 
ing I could not locate a single face that I could 
recognize, although I had spoken to quite a num- 
ber of the lads, and feeling somewhat disap- 
pointed I shook hands with my hastily made ac- 
quaintances and wheeled round to go out when 
I recognized one of the original Anzac boys 



117 A "Cushy Blighty" 117 

from my own Battery with whom I left Austra- 
lia. As I had lost a lot of weight he did not 
recognize me, but on calling out his name and 
shaking him by the shoulder and telling him 
I was Fred Howard, his eyes lit up with their 
old time vim as he said ''Strike me dead 'oward 
I didn't know ya, fair dinkum." It took us 
some time to talk over old times concerning the 
boys and their disappearance one by one. We 
talked of Generals, Colonels, Captains and all 
the rest of the higher ups and as my time was 
limited, I was just about to depart when I sud- 
denly thought of my old friend "Roman Nose." 
On Inquiring as to what became of Roman 
Nose, my pal grew suddenly quiet and modulat- 
ed his voice quite distinctly as he slowly drawl- 
ed out the answer I so eagerly awaited, which 
ran something like this: "Well, Howard, you 
left Galllpoli before the horses were landed but 
I was fortunate enough to be there through the 
whole of the campaign and believe me I well re- 
member when Roman Nose led the way for the 
other horses who were too timid to descend the 
gang-way. He was In good form when he 
landed and he absolutely knew me when we 
met. Well, he was so beloved by our Major 



Ii8 On Three Battle Fronts ii8 

that he just commandeered him for his own 
mount and Roman Nose knew what he was 
about when ridden by the Major 'Fair din- 
kum.' He was a show horse for fair; always 
sweating for action and foaming at the mouth 
like a wash tub. Well, one day as the Major 
dismounted, he let Roman Nose graze around, 
as he was reliable, and just then shells from 
the Turkish forts came over and landed quite 
near us. The Major, realizing that the horse 
might become frightened, called to me to hold 
him and just as I got hold of the reins, another 
shell came over and landed right by my side and 
immediately the explosion took place. Roman 
Nose was blown into two parts and I was left 
with nothing else but the forelegs and head 
attached to the reins." 

As he finished this little story I felt a good 
deal more lonely as I thought of my old pal, 
and if I remember rightly I bid him the Aus- 
tralian farewell of "Hurrah." I strolled away 
from the building thinking of the great and 
brainy horse which paid in full the supreme 
sacrifice on the ill-fated peninsular of Gallipoli. 



Weary Months in the Trenches 

On completion of ten days leave in London, 
I journeyed to Southampton and embarked on 
a channel transport which carried me across to 
France in company with thousands of other 
men returning to the trenches. Shortly after 
arrival at a French seaport I went direct by 
train to the front, but found that my unit had 
been moved to the Vimy Ridge front. To ac- 
tually reach the front line trenches entails a 
long midnight journey, single file, through miles 
of trenches and broken ground. One invariably 
knows when one arrives by the manner of the 
boys already there. 

Drafted battalions are sent to the front lines 
for "tricks" of about twenty days, and this time 
is split up into three sections. Four days is the 
usual stay in the advanced positions ; eight days 
in the supports, or second lines; eight days in 
the reserve trenches, or third line. Each of 
these lines has its different and particular duties 
to perform, except in case of emergency when 
every man throws his energy in the one direc- 
tion — to stop the Hun. The chap in the front 



120 On Three Battle Fronts, 120 

line trenches has to keep Fritz under close ob- 
servation, and he is the first man to strike a 
blow when opportunity offers. It is the duty of 
the front line men also to send out bombing 
parties and scouts, to maintain listening posts 
and keep watch at night from the firing step. 
In short, they have to perform the policing 
duties for the men in the rear. 

The support trenches, or second line, calls 
for less arduous duties, and a man can feel 
comparatively safe when doing his eight days 
in this position. Their work chiefly consists in 
bettering the trenches or rebuilding them after 
they have been destroyed by shell fire from 
"across the strip." These men are of course 
always in readiness for attacks on a large scale. 

The Reserve trenches, or third line, is 
farther removed from Mr. Hun, and, of course, 
conditions are very much better than in the 
two advanced lines. Classy looking dug-outs 
they have here, many of which bear witness to 
the decorative art of Thomas Atkins. The 
work of these third line men is to supply the 
men in front of them. Thousands of gas cylind- 
ers are handled by these boys; they meet the 
transports and take the supplies to the front 



121 Weary Months In the Trenches 121 

line In groups of from twenty to thirty under 
the direction of a non-commlssloned Officer. 
They perform all the harder work, and at night 
nearly all the men are as busy as bees In work- 
ing parties. 

Real adventure is to be found only in the 
front line, in my opinion, for it is here that 
the trench mortars operate. The immediate 
neighborhood of these guns is dangerous ground, 
and their gunners are habitually referred to as 
the "Suicide Club," for as soon as one of these 
clumsy looking guns commences vomiting hell, 
look out! The Germans detest these guns and 
invariably grow furious at the boys when they 
commence firing. Their retaliation consists of 
an hour or two of severe bombardment, and 
this of itself would justify the name of '^Suicide 
Club." 

It is from the front line that wiring parties 
go out, protected by the machine gunners close 
at hand. From this point the Engineers often 
run the tunnels. By means of delicate instru- 
ments the other side can always tell when this 
is going on, and naturally to save themselves 
from being blown up, they strain every nerve 
to forestall or render useless the plans of these 
human moles. 



122 On Three Battle Fronts 122 

So dangerous is the front line that many 
are killed in trying to enter it if the Germans 
once get the least clue of any movement of men, 
whilst others last just an hour or two before 
a shell or bullet comes along bearing as the 
soldiers have it, their "name and number" and 
another awaits the coming of the stretcher 
bearers. 

These boys who are just "across the road" 
from the Huns, so to speak, are, of course, 
the first to suffer from gas attacks and liquid 
fire. When anything and everything is doing 
along the lines the front line men suffer most. 
Duty on the firing-step, with its two hours on 
and two hours off, and a similar length of time 
on listening-posts, is such a strain on one's sys- 
tem that I have witnessed many men totally 
collapse during the night and sent to "Blighty" 
white haired, with nerves so shattered that they 
are never allowed to return to the trenches. 



A Night Attack 

It was the end of the Winter of 19 17 that 
I was doing listening-post duty. The night was 



123 Weary Months in the Trenches 123 



quiet enough and the moonlight revealed the 
shell craters quite distinctly. The usual flares 
were being sent up by the Germans and every- 
thing was normal. Suddenly red lights were 
exhibited. This was a signal to their artillery 
to open fire, and, believe me, they did open 
fire. The air was charged with shell and 
shrapnel as they put across everything they 
had from machine-gun fire to big '^minnies." 
On seeing the red lights I hurried back to the 
dug-out and gave the alarm to the men to 
"stand-to". Everyone was in readiness ifor 
the Hun as they waited. Just as suddenly as 
the fire opened it ceased. Such quiet did not, 
however, mean the passing of danger, but car- 
ried with it the threat of still greater danger. 
As every moment passed we expected death to 
come our way. Instead, however, of the Ger- 
mans coming over in our direction, they attack- 
ed a Scottish regiment up the line, figuring ap- 
parently that such a manoeuvre of surprise 
would result most favorably. But the Kilties 
met them in a gallant rush with the cold steel, 
and once again the night was quiet except for 
the groans of the dying Huns up the line out 
in No Man's Land. Knowing that the missing 



124 O^ Three Battle Fronts 124 

men must have been drawn from the German 
second lines, we sent over some of our best 
work to interrupt them; once again the night 
was quiet and in the morning, we knew, the 
people back home would read the commonplace 
news "everything quiet during the night — Ger- 
man night attack fails. '^ 

The Bombing Party 

The bombing parties which go over from the 
front line consist of 50 men, divided into two 
parties with a non-commissioned Officer in the 
centre. They proceed out into, and across No 
Man's Land under a barrage of our fire and 
as they near the German lines in single file 
each party is arranged as follows : First bayonet 
man, second bayonet man, bomb thrower, bomb 
carrier, a group of wirers and two teams (per- 
haps five men to a team) of machine-gunners. 
It is very exciting work. Nothing white is car- 
ried for fear of detection, even the men's hands 
and faces being blackened. On arriving at 
the Hun trench it is the duty of the first bayonet 
man to jump into the trench and clean up any- 
one and everyone there having a white face, 



125 Weary Months in the Trenches 125 

and I may say that Fritz often gets an exagger- 
ated white face when the cold steel comes his 
way. Upon this work being completed, the 
bombers climb down into the trench and the 
machine-gunners take up positions to safeguard 
the work of these men and prevent interruption. 
Now the trenches are always constructed on 
geometric lines so as to protect as many men 
as possible from being killed by an exploding 
shell which would prove many times more dead- 
ly were the trenches laid out in straight lines. 
These divisions in the trenches are known as 
travises and bays and at their junction there is 
an angle of 90 degrees. Well, our men are 
now in the trench. As the corner is reached the 
men are very much alive to their duty, as a rush 
from a bunch of Germans might result In their 
all being killed. The first bayonet man holds 
his bayonet in readiness in such a way as to 
conceal the bright steel from the view of the 
Germans at the end of a bay, and the bomber 
with accurate judgment throws a bomb over 
into the adjoining bay. After the explosion 
takes place the party advances close on the 
heels of the first bayonet man, and any man who 
is still there Is stuck with the cold steel, our 



126 On Three Battle Fronts 126 

instructions being that there must be no doubt 
about the effectiveness of the work. This sec- 
tion having been cleaned of Huns, the first 
bayonet man advances to the next corner, and 
again the thrower places his faithful Mills 
bomb in the next bay and the chances are that 
anyone present will not outlive the explosion. 
Immediately the bayonet man again proceeds 
with his good work of sticking Huns, no mat- 
ter whether they show fight or fright. 

A bayonet man cannot entertain the idea of 
failure for one moment, as confidence in this 
work is everything. The good work continues 
in this way, and presently a dug-out will be 
reached, and again the bayonet man takes up 
his position as the thrower hurls maybe three 
or four bombs down into the dug-out. It is 
an observed fact that in any explosion men will 
always endeavor to reach the open air, and it 
is because of this natural instinct that the 
bayonet man can get in some of the excellent 
strokes taught him so thoroughly during his 
training. Along they go leaving behind only 
dead Germans, whilst the wirers hurriedly fill 
in the trench and convert it into a new portion 
of No Man's Land. 



127 Weary Months In the Trenches 127 

If any German trench is followed far 
enough it will lead to a communication trench 
and it is here that the two parties before 
mentioned split, and the non-commissioned of- 
ficer takes up his position at the junction of 
the trenches till the allotted work of the men 
is completed under the cover of the machine 
gunners. When time is up — for only a limited 
time is allowed — the parties return to the non- 
commissioned officer, and at a given signal our 
barrage is thrown over on the adjoining Ger- 
man lines so as to keep them down till we re- 
turn across No Man's Land to our own 
trenches. It was on the 8th of April, 19 17, 
that I went over in this manner with a party 
of 50 men and returned, one of seven, after 
having cleaned up a goodly number of Huns 
who, as usual, were very much surprised at our 
impudence in trespassing in this way. 

The Lost Hun 

On one occasion, whilst on duty in the support 
trenches, I was sent out with a ration party of 
twenty men whose duty it was to carry supplies 
to the men In the front line trenches. These 



128 On Three Battle Fronts 128 

eagerly awaited messengers get their load from 
the transports at a given point behind the lines. 
The party in this instance arrived at the ap- 
pointed place on time, strangely enough with- 
out any casualties. This is considered particu- 
larly dangerous work, and a stretcher-bearer al- 
ways accompanies the party. On our return 
the men were counted in order to ascertain who 
was missing. To our surprise, on this occasion, 
we had a man too many. A closer inspection 
revealed a German among us who had ap- 
parently mistaken us for a German patrol party, 
and on approaching us had just simply fallen 
into line with the rest of the boys and marched 
straight into our trench to his own great sur- 
prise. We all laughed at the incident, and 
took the man down into the dug-out and treat- 
ed him well, but I doubt if the same treatment 
would have been meted out to him twenty 
minutes previously out in the open. 

The devices employed by the engineers, in 
their efforts to protect the men in the front line 
trenches and prepare their surprises for Fritz, 
are varied and often entertaining. For example, 
when the presence of gas is suspected in dug- 



129 Weary Months in the Trenches 129 

outs or when tunneling, a canary is pressed into 
service. If there is the slightest trace of gas 
in the air, the bird will collapse, very quickly, 
owing to the extreme rapidity with which it 
breathes. Mice are sometimes used in this way, 
but I believe canaries have proved to be the 
more reliable. 

During the whole of my stay in the front 
lines, watching aerial activity was our princi- 
pal form of amusement when things were slow. 
These ships of the air manoeuvre round and 
round and dart at each other at top speed, 
oftimes the tips of their wings touching each 
other in their flight thousands of feet overhead. 
Shells are continually exploding underneath 
them, usually harmless, as it takes a remark- 
able shot from aerial guns for a direct hit. I 
have witnessed many, many machines coming 
down — some in flames, others carrying their 
dead aviator earthwards, as the mechanic en- 
deavors to control the machine in its plunging 
flight. It is indescribably exciting to watch 
these deadly air duels of modern warfare. 

The expression on the faces of the men in 



130 On Three Battle Fronts 130 

the trenches is a study. The men of the first 
line have drawn faces, tired eyes sunk deep in 
their heads with the terrific strain of their duty. 
The men of the second line seem more relaxed 
in the main, while the third line men are almost 
normal in manner and appearance. 

The new arrivals at the front line trenches 
are first greeted by the odor of the exploding 
chemicals released by enemy shells, and it re- 
quires but little more than this to tell men who 
have been there before that the position has 
been recently bombarded. Additional evidence 
of the fact is found in the smell of newly turned 
ground, and the battered condition of the 
barbed wire entanglements readily seen by the 
flaring light of the shells, all revealing to the 
midnight-relief men that they are actually in 
the front-line trenches. One experience in the 
front line trench makes one feel quite familiar 
with them everywhere for they all present 
much the same appearance. 

To meet the conditions of trench life suc- 
cessfully, one would have to be a cross betr^^een 
a mole and a frog. It is practically always 



131 Weary Months In the Trenches 131 

wet underfoot. I could not get quite accustom- 
ed to living In a dug-out. Incidentally, (un- 
pleasant as are these holes In the ground) , It 
impairs the morale of the men to go out of 
range into one of these dug-outs as they are 
very reluctant to come out again Into the trench. 
From the roofs of these places there Is always 
water dripping, and the absence of anything like 
a bed and the presence of foul damp air make 
them In all very unattractive quarters. Rats 
and cooties are the only living things that enjoy 
these surroundings^ — -the rats scuttle from beam 
to beam and burrow from dug-out to dug-out. 
They glean abominable provender in the black 
hours of the night, and boldly run across the 
sleeper's body or foot In their midnight scamp- 
erings. It Is sufficient to say that the "cooties" 
are even more Intimate. 

When on the VImy Ridge during the Winter 
of 19 17, I successfully tamed a rat that I hap- 
pened to come across when still very young. 
This rat, whom I nicknamed "Rato", had un- 
limited faith when I handled him. I could, with 
confidence allow him to crawl up my sleeve, but 
on attempting to remove him he usually object- 
ed. When "Rato" was coming to the height of 



132 On Three Battle Fronts 132 

his fame, however, a German shell robbed him 
of his life and destroyed him so utterly that 
when I endeavored to find traces of him I was 
only rewarded by locating a piece of his wire 
cage. 

Different types of men accept the front line 
existence in different ways. Men from damp 
countries are not so much affected as are the 
men from the drier parts of the globe. As soon 
as the Indian warriors arrive in Europe they 
are troubled with rheumatism in much the same 
way as are the Australians when placed under 
fire during the Winter months in France. For- 
tunately through the extent of the war, such 
men are used to advantage elsewhere, where 
men from England and France would be hard 
hit by the climatic conditions. 

When in the trenches one must have complete 
confidence in the work of the other men. When 
men are thrown across No Man's Land under a 
barrage of fire, and the shells explode about 
40 yards ahead of them, it requires a lot of 
nerve not to think of some of the artillery gun- 
ners being somewhat neglectful of their duties 
in adjusting the sights of their guns. The man 
on listening post duty must be trusted by the rest 



133 Weary Months In the Trenches 133 

of the boys, for this man (with the exception 
of the scout maybe) has the greatest responsi- 
bility in the protection of men in the front line 
against bombing parties sent over by the Ger- 
mans ; and so the whole army is linked together 
in belief and trust that the other fellow is doing 
his bit and doing it well. This feeling in itself 
is a great factor in modern warfare. Imagine 
two scouts crawling out into No Man's Land 
and one of them not trusting the other, or be- 
lieving him to be unreliable in a tight corner; 
dear reader you can imagine it only, for it does 
not exist in the reality. 

During the Winter months braziers were is- 
sued to us and a small portion of coal was al- 
lowed for each one, until the Germans learned 
of our trench comforts and immediately set 
about bombarding the dugouts from which 
smoke was streaming, until it was found that 
the smoke from the braziers proved to be as 
dangerous as the surroundings of the trench 
mortars. During these bombardments many 
men were imprisoned in collapsed dugouts, and 
and if they had the chance and presence of 
mind to don their gas masks, the chances were 
that they would be recovered alive ; and if such 



134 On Three Battle Fronts 134 

proved to be the happy result the survivors 
were invariably known as "dug-out." I knew 
three ''dug-outs" at one time in my section of 
the front line trench which will give an idea of 
the frequency of these happenings. I was very 
much alarmed on one occasion as a German 
trench mortar of the larger calibre stove in a 
dug-out into which I was just proceeding, and 
had it not been for a cross beam, I would prob- 
ably have been doomed. On a search being 
made among the men who usually occupied it, 
there proved to be a stoical Canadian logger 
imprisoned, so we immediately set to work to 
dig him out in the hope that his life would 
be saved. After about twenty minutes of 
strenuous work our picks pierced the fallen wall 
of his domicile and on making a sufficiently 
large hole to get in we found the logger still 
snoring peacefully and as for being alarmed at 
his position — well, I will let the reader judge 
for himself. He finished out his sleep and ever 
afterwards occupied his hole which he labelled 
"Logger's Rest." 



Scouting in No Man's Land 

My bush life and my natural Inclinations 
gradually led me to believe that I was best fitted 
to be a scout, so when the opportunity came 
along I accepted it, and became a Battalion 
Scout. 

In No Man's Land! God, what frail pen of 
men can fitly paint this indescribable land, with 
its thousands of horrors and its million risks 
each hour of the day! If one's feeble mind 
could glimpse the grandeur of heaven, then the 
same mind might conceive the opposite — the 
ghastly spectacle one is confronted with when 
once over the parapet. The loneliness of the 
place, a loneliness weirdly lighted by a thousand 
exploding shells, is unutterably cruel; the all- 
pervading stench of decaying bodies is abomin- 
able, and oftimes in the dead hours of the night 
one's hand sinks deeply into decaying forms — 
maybe the remains of a chum or possibly a ven- 
turesome German Scout "went west" at that 
spot. The fat rats scamper away in all direc- 
tions — and it is not an uncommon occurrence 
for a rat to take cover under one's coat as 



136 On Three Battle Fronts 136 

one flattens oneself to a crawling position, lest 
he be discerned by an enemy scout. There are 
millions of rats, and it is wonderful where they 
go to during the severe Winter months. The 
loneliness, the gloom, the rats, and the thousand 
other things to rob one of heart can be waved 
aside only by remembering that one's duty is a 
thing apart from oneself — because it is duty to 
humanity and to posterity. 

Scouting demands a cool head in the face of 
the gravest dangers, but let him try who will, 
the coolest and the bravest, and if his heart 
does not climb up to his throat and pause un- 
mercifully before again descending, then he is a 
superman. 

Usually two Scouts go out together, and It 
fell to my lot to be closely associated with an 
ex-Northwest Canadian policeman, by name 
Douglas Grant. Many adventures we had to- 
gether whilst ferreting out information. We 
were something more* than brothers, because 
each relied upon the other till death itself was 
at hand, and if Doug said something was right 
then it was good enough for me, and if I be- 
lieved a scheme was correct Doug never ques- 
tioned my methods. We had a system of sig- 



137 Scouting In No Man's Land 137 

nailing by tapping on the ground, and at close 
quarters by finger taps in the Morse code on 
each other's hands, and so we made a good 
pair. 

Before going over at night we always receiv- 
ed our orders, but in executing them methods 
were left to us ; and Doug and I doped that out 
just as Joffre and his staff planned their moves. 
We have been so close to the German lines that 
we would hear the Germans talking and work- 
ing with their trench tools. In such a situation, 
your body goes tense and rigid, your nerves 
are taut, all your senses are marvelously alert — 
you are matching your wits with lurking death. 
Your heart pounds till you actually hear it, and 
your fancy leads you to believe that the other 
fellow's sigh sounds like a lion's roar. The 
hair bristles out on your body, and your morbid 
imagination sees the very posts fighting each 
other and hears the splash of a rat into a shell 
hole as if it were an ocean wave dashing up 
against a pierhead. The moan of a dying man 
comes to you, and you are sickened at the 
thought of a man dying in some shell-hole, and 
you not being able to find him ; but, you think, 
maybe it is a German scout, and again your 



138 On Three Battle Fronts 138 

heart is steel as you carry on with the good 
work. 

When reading this in a comfortable chair 
after a good dinner, it is hard to imagine that 
No Man's Land is a reality, but in order to 
conceive what it is like I would recommend the 
following procedure. Have yourself locked in 
a haunted castle which has long since fallen into 
ruins, and have someone to bar the door and 
throw the key out of the window. Fill the place 
with rats which look questionably at you from 
their hind legs, and have the place bombarded 
incessantly whilst bloodthirsty Germans are 
ever waiting to play their machine guns upon 
you. Throw a few coils of barbed wire about 
and have the rain swept in gushes by a scream- 
ing wind which is not hindered by the presence 
of a roof, and replace the flooring with mud 
sometimes waist deep from which it is impos- 
sible to escape and you will have a mild repre- 
sentation of No Man's Land. I could con- 
tinue by mentioning the cooties, wet clothes, 
and the absence of hot foods for two or three 
days previously, but would you dear reader 
really believe these things possible? Unfortun- 
ately they are too true. 



139 Scouting in No Man's Land 139 

How sickening it all is; how disgusting and 
how terrible. If Hell Is a reality, here it is; for 
no worse tortures of mind or body could be 
placed upon man than those to be suffered by 
the boys out In No Man's Land. I am not 
speaking exclusively of Scouts at this point; but 
these crawlers of the night have good reasons 
to be looked upon as important men of the 
army. 

One is liable to be burned by liquid fire, 
pierced by a bullet, torn by shrapnel, bayonet- 
ed or gassed at any moment; or maybe caught 
in mud so deep and sticky that it defies the 
strongest man to escape from its embrace. If a 
star shell goes up all must be motionless ; other- 
wise it is certain death. If one is gradually 
sinking in the mud, then it is better to sink into 
the quagmire and hope to find a sound bottom 
before being totally swallowed up, than to give 
the Germans an opportunity to make a target of 
your body. 

I have many times taken a chance on sinking 
in the mud in preference to being riddled by 
the Germans, and once solid bottom was not 
found till it was up to my arm pits In this germ- 
laden filth. My boots were full of water, my 



140 On Three Battle Fronts 140 

uniform dragged heavily, and slowly but surely 
I was growing colder; yet I dared not make a 
sound lest the Germans hear my call. It is hard 
for me now, having fairly recovered health and 
strength, to understand the absence of my nor- 
mal strength on that occasion as I stood help- 
less, hopeless, in that cold mud awaiting death. 
To get out without human aid was impossible, 
and I could only hope that my scout compan- 
ion might come out to see whether I was still 
alive. I figured that before this was accomp- 
lished, however, many hours must pass; but I 
was a soldier of the Empire, and if I must die, 
then I would stand up under my burden like a 
soldier till death came to relieve me. Mean- 
while, the sky was being continually lighted up 
by star shells, and I could hear the rap-rap-tap- 
tap-tap of the machine guns, first on one side, 
and then on the other. I watched the explosions 
of our heavies far away in the distance, and 
wondered as to the accuracy of their fire — any- 
thing to keep my mind away from the fact that 
I was a doomed man. Two hours passed — they 
seemed like centuries; my arms refused longer 
to hold my rifle above the mud; I decided to 
let it sink and stand on it; then folded my arms 



141 Scouting In No Man's Land 141 

in order to keep my wrist watch going and 
keep track of the time. Time? — what had I to 
do with the hours of the night except to know 
how long I could live in this position? And yet 
I knew that 2 130 that night our barrage would 
be sent sweeping over so that a wiring party 
might go about their perilous labors; beyond 
this I was not interested. Two-thirty came, 
and our barrage went over, but no party 
ever came near my position; so I gave up hope 
and resolved upon surrender. I was looking 
back over my life when the Germans opened 
fire; now shells were falling all around me; 
but I still reckoned on being fortunate enough 
not to be sent "West," when crash; — the most 
terrific explosion I had ever heard occurred just 
50 feet away. It shattered the very air, and 
the ground with its five feet of mud trembled as 
I had never felt it tremble before. Something 
blinded me. I could not hear. I felt sick, 
dizzy, in a swirl of faintness and blackness, I 
felt something going out of me as it seemed. 
What could it be and what was the cause of 
this horrible sensation? My God, the mud and 
slime are moving, and I am carried along with 
them! I am still up to my arm pits; my sight 



142 On Three Battle Fronts 142 

returns a little; I am no longer totally deaf; I 
am glad In a way that something is doing, but 
what really is the cause I know not. On I go. 
What was that I shoved with my foot? It is not 
too late to fish for it. Then again I feel it; 
and now once again. I reach down to my 
knees in order to grasp at anything solid that 
may offer itself; to my surprise my hand comes 
in contact with a mass of tree roots and I clutch- 
ed at them as a drowning man does at a straw. 
On bringing them to the surface I find they are 
attached to larger roots. I grip one of them 
and pass it about my shoulder in order to be 
moved no further. Meanwhile the semi-liquid 
flood of ooze flows on. I know not how many 
cubic yards, but it is going somewhere, and I 
dimly think of the possibility of its exhausting 
itself in time. Another explosion occurs; and 
now the mud moves more rapidly, and I can 
feel that it is gradually subsiding, and I shout 
with joy. Down, down, down it goes, inch by 
inch, till it is down to my middle. Now I can- 
not move for weakness, but down, still further 
down, the mud goes. When it is knee deep, I 
am still unable (for lack of strength) to strug- 
gle against it. I am almost frozen and quite 



143 Scouting In No Man's Land 143 

exhausted. It is still dark. No star shells are 
going up, and I cannot see where or how I 
stand; but I am still alive and glad to have a 
sporting chance of life. 

I hardly knew when the mud got down to 
my ankles for my clothes were soaked with the 
vile stuff, and I was actually still waiting for 
the mud to drift away when it was only over 
my shoes. I felt as helpless as a child, but how 
glad I was I can never record. I now had to 
make a final effort to get out of this mess, and 
following the tree roots up to a stump I sat 
upon it momentarily till I took my bearings. I 
was in No Man's Land and had a chance for 
my life if I could keep alive for half an hour 
or so; so off I plodded in the direction of a 
little higher ground, and in a few minutes I was 
crawling up a bank on all fours. On and on I 
plodded. Nothing could be seen. A dense fog 
veiled all the ground. If only a star shell would 
go up occasionally and shew me the way to my 
trenches. Suddenly I stumbled upon some 
barbed wire. Was it the Germans'? If 
it was I was done for. I groped for the near- 
est support and my heart leaped with joy when 
I found that they were wires edging the British 



144 On Three Battle Fronts 144 

trench. Why, I was really near home; I pro- 
ceeded to crawl along slowly, stealthily, silent- 
ly; for were I to make a noise I might be shot 
as this, possibly, was some other regiment's 
ground. On I went along the barbed wire till 
I came to an opening, and here I was home — 
home in the safety of a shell broken trench; and 
on whispering to the guard at the sap I was 
welcomed with "We all thought you were 
dead." The boys joked at me, and I really 
was so overjoyed to be back that I tried to see 
the humor of the situation. My Officers eyed 
me up and down, but I could not do more than 
shew my weariness; so I was carried along a 
communication trench to a dug-out where my 
clothes were stripped off, dry ones put on over 
a muddy skin, and a pot of rum poured down 
my throat. I did not need anything more to 
put me fast asleep in a bed made of a couple of 
bags and poles, from twenty to thirty feet under 
the surface of the ground. 

I awoke from my slumbers twelve hours 
afterwards with an Officer standing over me 
and smiling, and after some hot soup and 
another rifle had been handed to me, I was 
ready for further duty. When the Officer heard 



145 Scouting in No Man's Land 145 

my tale he laughed at the idea of the mud. 
I was confident of my story, however, so the 
next night I said I would crawl out in the direc- 
tion of where I was held up by the mud and 
investigate the place. I went over as do all 
scouts — like the hands of a clock — and went off 
in the right direction. At last I came to the 
bank up which I had climbed on all fours and 
then I could see the tree with its life-saving 
roots. Not satisfied with this I went on, and 
there right ahead was a hole made by a Jack 
Johnson shell which would accommodate a vil- 
lage church, and into which the mud had pour- 
ed. High up on the side of this huge hole there 
was a second crater whic^ was caused by the 
second explosion that occurred near to me and 
because of this, I could plainly see, the mud 
flowed more rapidly, as several tree stumps 
were still hanging by their roots which partly 
blocked the flow of mud during the first por- 
tion of my imprisonment. 

Any sound out in No Man's Land causes it 
to be raked with machine gun fire, and it is 
the scout's duty to mark the points from which 
this fire comes so that the artillery can smash 
down the enemy defenses on the morrow. 



146 On Three Battle Fronts 146 

When the German wire entanglements are 
reached the worst job of all is finding a lane 
through them and often one has to cut one's 
way through. "It is a job calling for absolutely 
no nerves at all but all sorts of nerve," one 
man has aptly said of the scouts' duties. One 
is sometimes close up under a German machine 
gun, another time caught by a star shell, and 
then if the natural impulse to lie down is obey- 
ed, another man is listed as missing. Any move- 
ment in such a situation is self-betrayal; and 
if the star shell is between the Scout and his 
own trenches he must even hold his breath, for 
one's body in such cases is distinctly silhoutted 
against the brilliant light. 

Of course the Germans send out their scouts 
too, into No Man's Land, and there is always 
the possibility of meeting them. If so met they 
must be bayoneted. A shot from a rifle would 
attract attention, and perhaps cost one's life, 
so I always took care to use the steel on these 
occasions. 

One cannot take chances in the performance 
of this duty, as the German sometimes dresses 
in a dead enemy's uniform and tries to pass 
himself off as one of the Allies' soldiers; but 



147 Scouting In No Man's Land 147 

this trick Is rarely played as our Instructions are 
based on experience and can be summed up con- 
cisely: "Don't take chances with dead men." 

Some of these German scouts are nervy fel- 
lows it must be allowed. Once I happened to 
notice on leaving a sap which lead into the 
"unowned ground," a coil of wire lying nearby, 
and after carrying out my scouting duties, when 
returning I noticed that the coil of wire had 
disappeared, to my astonishment, for I knew 
that the wirers had not been out that night. I 
inquired of the sentry whether anyone had been 
there and he said "No." I then told him about 
the coil of wire. He plainly thought that I was 
suffering from a too active imagination, but 
on reaching the ground where the wire had 
been, I at last perceived a peg driven into the 
ground, and a star shell shewed that there was 
writing on it. I removed the peg and presented 
it to an interpreter in the front line for trans- 
lation, and he said the German words meant: 
"The Kaiser sends his best regards to Rou- 
mania." This was indeed the work of a very 
daring fellow. My pal Grant levelled matters 
up with Mr. Fritz, however, by sticking his 
scout the next night out in No Man's Land. 



148 On Three Battle Fronts 148 

When scouts crawl over the parapet at the 
appointed time, the artillery fire ceases so as 
to enable the men to crawl about in compar- 
ative safety whilst performing their tasks, and 
again opens fire at an appointed time. This 
time is of course known to the scouts in ad- 
vance, and should one happen to be a few min- 
utes late the chances are very slim of his ever 
reaching his own trenches again. On one oc- 
casion Doug's watch and mine were three 
minutes apart, but I was sure that my timepiece 
never lost a second and that Doug's was fast 
the three minutes. Doug was convinced by 
my signals, but alas the delicate machinery of 
my watch must have been injured in some man- 
ner for the fire opened up prior to our return 
to the sap. Shells fell all around us and the 
ground was turned up again and again exposing 
to view the German dead who had been buried 
oh three different occasions. We managed, 
however, to crawl back to the sap but always 
had the correct time afterwards. 

Necessarily a scout is an expert with the 
bayonet, because he is usually used as the first 
bayonet man on a bombing squad, and on his 
performance of this work depend many lives. 



149 Scouting in No Man's Land 149 

He also has to possess a thorough knowledge of 
the trenches, for he is invariably used to bring 
into the front line fresh drafts of men from 
the billets. These moves are always made at 
midnight without the aid of a light, and when 
it is remembered that in freshly captured land 
the trenches may even have a communication 
trench leading into the newly made No Man's 
Land, it can easily be seen how essential it is 
that the trenches be known to him. A scout is 
sometimes even used as a "runner," a carrier of 
despatches, and must therefore have a very 
keen sense of direction. All in all, the scout is 
a specialist in his particular branch of army 
work and seldom changes to anything else, when 
once he has commenced In this line, unless It be 
for promotion. 



I50 



The Chase 



150 



H 










Whilst seated one day in my 
dug-out, 

Weary and ill at ease, 
I saw a gunner carefully 

Scanning his sunburnt knees; 



I asked hina why he was search- 
ing, 
And what he was looking for. 
But his only reply was a long- 
drawn sigh 
As he quietly killed one more. 
Am. Park. 



BILLETS 

Billets ! I chuckle at the thought which arises 
in the minds of those in the United States when 
this word is mentioned. Most people think 
billets are rest houses where tired soldiers 
may lie down and rest peacefully, undisturbed 
by shellfire; where luxuries are to be found and 
little cots with white spreads are tidily kept by 
obliging souls. 

Here is what I found when in billets. A bil- 
let is an enclosure of any kind, of any age and 
of any construction. It may be an improvised 
pig sty, a French barn or an obsolete chicken 
pen long since deemed useless. On the floor is 
plenty of straw and on this the weary men lie 
down and enjoy the sweet sense of relaxation 
and rest that comes to tired limbs and expended 
energies. It sounds well even at this point, but 
do not overlook Mr. Cootie with his ever pres- 
ent desire to bore holes into your anatomy. 
This pest has caused more sleepless nights than 
all the German cannon, and is yet uncontrolled 
by science. Someday billets will not be loathed 



152 On Three Battle Fronts 152 

as they were when I was in them, but until the 
vermin question is met and firmly mastered, I 
feel sorry for the boys who try to sleep with 
such bed-fellows. They decide to dine immed- 
iately one lies down to sleep, and of course sleep 
is out of the question for most men under such 
circumstances. With poor facilities for bathing 
and a lack of clean clothes it is impossible for 
one to dream of these multitudinous insects ever 
being curbed by ordinary means, and so the 
soldier awaits the time when science will solve 
this problem and remove the plague. 

Twelve days are usually allowed one to re- 
cuperate in the billets and were it not for con- 
tinual searchings at night and morning I doubt 
if I ever would have had a decent night's rest 
in the billets. Cootie hunts are regular occur- 
rences; all the men line up and endeavor to 
clean their garments of the pests. It is disgust- 
ing and sickening to the new men, but it is abso- 
lutely essential to sleep and contentment even of 
a third-rate kind. 

Scratchers are carried by some men in order 
that they may reach any portion of their bodies 
that may be attacked by the cooties; and if I 
remember rightly these pliable sticks were held 



153 Billets 153 

in high esteem by their possessors. To steal one 
meant insult to its owner. 

There's no idle time over in France, and the 
work allotted to the billeted men is that of 
constructing ammunition dumps, digging drains 
for the engineers to lay out a water system, and 
performing other work around about deemed 
necessary and helpful to the great effort. 

Month after month I went in and came out 
of those trenches, and into billets and out of 
billets, and often I questioned which was the 
worse — front line trenches or billets. The 
great thing in billets is that eating conditions 
are much better, and regular meals of a fairly 
good variety are served. 

Billets are vei*y interesting marks for the 
German gunners, and considering the almost un- 
limited range of gunfire, one is not safe even 10 
or 1 2 miles behind the front lines ; indeed, it is 
not infrequent that one is bombed from his rest 
house — and pest house — ^by such enemy fire. I 
have witnessed fire on billets miles behind the 
front line and in some cases seemingly under 
the cover of a hill. The Germans get the range 
from their aircraft and once this is secured 
there is sure to be something doing in the im- 



154 On Three Battle Fronts 154 

mediate future — all going to show that there 
is absolutely no place immune from danger 
"over there." 

One of the pleasantest moments of life in the 
billets is that when leave is granted. On such 
occasions the men would divide up into their 
various groups, machine gunners by themselves, 
bombers, bayonet men, scouts, etc. The scouts 
were fortunate enough to have a very fine 
quartet; and music along the road and a glass 
of vin rouge or vin blanc at the end of the 
jaunt at one of the village estamenets made 
such little trips an agreeable variation of the 
monotony of billet life. 



Vimy Ridge 

We arrived in billets at Monstaloy and re- 
mained there for a week. During this time we 
engaged in hard work such as unloading shells 
from the motor transports and constructing 
ammunition dumps for use during the coming 
battles. Anything unusual always attracts the 
attention of the German air-craft, and on their 
planes seeing us from overhead, they were 
plainly very anxious to get further information 
as to our activities. Consequently aerial battles 
were frequent and the Germans were finally 
beaten off, not however, before they had photo- 
graphed the operations. Fritz always acts with 
promptness, and the photograph must have just 
about been developed and enlarged when they 
brought into operation an armoured train which 
fired shots from very heavy cannon endeavoring 
to locate and destroy the dumps. It happened 
that at this moment when the end of everything 
including our lives seemed to be at hand, our 
Battalion was in billets. One shell from the 
armoured train fell about 20 yards from the 



156 On Three Battle Fronts 156 

huts and exploded. A few moments before, 
the boys had been preparing to leave the billets 
that night; some were sewing on buttons, some 
were playing cards, whilst others were loafing 
and resting prior to their departure. Amongst 
the men who were present was a pal of mine 
who was scheduled for leave, but owing to de- 
lay in the arrival of the relief trains he could 
not do otherwise than wait till the service was 
again reorganized. When the explosion of this 
shell occurred my pal was reading a week-old 
newspaper in company with another Canadian 
on a top bunk. Now, some of my equipment 
was unmarked with my regimental number, so 
finding that I did not have an indelible pencil, 
I climbed down from the middle bunk and 
asked one of the boys for the loan of his pencil. 
I was thinking of my regimental number, and 
wanted to write it down. I had walked only a 
few yards when the death-dealing shell ex- 
ploded, and had I remained where I was I could 
not have escaped being killed instantly, as a 
large piece of shrapnel came through the side of 
the wall and passed over the spot where I had 
just been standing. I could trace the course of 
the shell by the hole on the other side of the 



157 Vimy Ridge 157 

hut; and I have always considered that that triv- 
ial want of a lead pencil saved my life on this 
occasion. The explosion threw the men into 
confusion. After I had recovered from the 
shock I noticed that a man who had been pull- 
ing on a pair of pants had his arm blown off, 
and my pal who was scheduled for leave was 
mortally wounded. He climbed down from his 
bunk with his shoulder badly torn and his arm 
gone. He was a brave boy for he immediately 
called for a stretcher — when one was procured 
he was fast dying. "Good bye, boys, I'm done," 
he said, and that was the end. Other casualties 
resulted in other huts, but I did not have nerve 
enough to ascertain the facts. 

Our Officers, realizing that the Germans had 
our range ordered us to scatter out in order to 
prevent further heavy casualties amongst us. 



Rehearsal of the Battle of Vimy Ridge 

The next morning we were marched to Ram- 
bert. Certain Divisions of the Canadians, after 
resting for a week, w^ere told off in order to 
rehearse the taking of Vimy Ridge. Aerial 



158 On Three Battle Fronts 158 

photographs were secured of this front and a 
similar piece of ground was selected near this 
coal-mining town of Rambert, located near 
Calais. Here we saw the strange sight of peas- 
ant women ably performing the work of men 
in the flourishing coal industry. Men were bil- 
leted in that little town which gave us all an 
opportunity to again restore our clothes to 
cleanliness and free our bodies from the mud 
and vermin that came with months of isolation. 

1200 yards of this ridge, closely resembling 
Vimy Ridge, was measured off and laid out with 
the aid of surveying instruments, and each man 
was allotted to a definite position and had to 
adhere to rigid regulations looking to the cap- 
ture of the German lines. The new French 
methods of going over the top were adopted on 
this occasion, which meant that the men were 
to walk behind the barrage of artillery fire. 
Machine gunners were taught to carry their 
guns on slings and for two weeks daily we re- 
hearsed the taking of this German stronghold 
which for so long had proved to be a thorn in 
the side of the Allies. 

New formations were just being developed 
at this stage of the war and it was in the 



159 Vimy Ridge 159 

taking of Vimy Ridge that the new methods 
were tried out by the Canadians. There were 
few idle moments at Rambert you may be sure! 
We all had to continue in the practice of our 
special and alloted part and this proved to be 
of greatest value to us all when it came to the 
execution of our ambitious undertaking. 

On leaving the French town of Rambert 
many of the residents were crying to see us go, 
and had we Canadians been of their own blood 
we could not have been treated better. The 
majority of the men of this town were in ser- 
vice or had died in action, consequently poverty 
here was more pronounced, and so on leaving, 
each of the "highly paid Canadians" subscribed 
liberally in recognition of the kindness they had 
enjoyed. We were all sorry to march out of 
Rambert and leave its comforts behind us. 

Vimy Ridge 

The breathing spell in the little town of Ram- 
bert had done us all good, we surely needed 
such a change, but now that the time for the 
taking of the Ridge was approaching It was 
necessary for us to return to the trenches for 



i6o On Three Battle Fronts i6o 

the purpose. From Rambert we marched to 
Monstaloy, and from there we marched in the 
direction of the trenches along the road we had 
previously travelled. 

The boom from the distant guns could be 
plainly heard as we proceeded and the illumi- 
nation from the bursting shells could be seen 
far in the distance. As we proceeded our offi- 
cers divided us into groups of from thirty to 
forty men, and at the various points along the 
road where the Reserve trenches connected with 
the highway each of these units was placed 
under the supervision of a guide, to be taken to 
the front lines, where our positions were well 
known to us because of the many rehearsals 
we had just completed. We all knew that we 
were to go over the top within a week or so but 
the exact date was kept a profound secret, and 
it was not until the opening of intensive bom- 
barding by our artillery, which was lo- 
cated far in the rear, that we knew when we 
were likely to go over the top. This bom- 
bardment continued for many days and it is re- 
markable how many shells can be put over on 
the German lines in an hour or two. The air 
seemed literally full of shells. 



i6i Vimy Ridge i6i 

On the 8th of April orders were given that 
bombing raids were to go over and disorganize 
the German front lines and also to cut the wire 
for the boys were going over the following 
morning. 

I was one of the party of bombers and on 
returning to our lines, after having inflicted 
heavy losses on the Germans, we learned that 
all were to go over the top at 5 o'clock in the 
morning. We had not long to wait as it was 
very late when we came back from bombing 
out the Hun trenches. 

At 4:30 A. M. all the men were assembled, 
in the order which was at this time so familiar 
to us, so that all would be In readiness at five 
o'clock for the big move, which was to carry 
one of the impregnable positions the Germans 
prided themselves on possessing. We all knew 
on this occasion that there would be thousands 
of disasters and as the weary minutes dragged 
on and on my heart seemed to turn to lead and 
swung slowly and solemnly. I believe I was not 
alone in this feeling for it was quite evident 
that within the next half hour or so many of 
us would be dead or permanently crippled. The 
noise from our own artillery was deafening, it 



1 62 On Three Battle Fronts 162 

was useless to try to talk to the man next to 
me. The only consolation I could find was in 
thinking of predestination. Centuries seem to 
pass whilst waiting to go over the top as we all 
realized that a very difficult job was ahead of 
us and every effort was necessary to make a 
victory of the undertaking. 

Precisely at ^ve the roars of the cannons 
ceased and a comparative calm followed but 
this seemed just as objectionable to my ears 
after the indescribably nerve racking explosions. 
Perhaps it was sudden contrast, but the 
cessation of fire seemed to bother my nerves 
quite a lot. There was no time for speculation 
now, whatever happened, as the signal was 
given for the boys to go over the top. 

The air was charged with fumes from the 
shells and the peculiar smell from the freshly 
turned soil with its gases buried on previous oc- 
casions seemed to create a haze as we slowly 
followed the instructions we had previously 
been given on the rehearsal ground. The very 
ground was very familiar to us except for the 
shell holes being continually made and trans- 
formed by the shells from the German batteries 
far in the distance. They knew by this time 




On the 9th day of April, 191 7, just before the Can- 
adians made their immortal dash for Vimy Ridge, the 
great news came that America had entered the war. 
Great was the rejoicing among these battle-tried veter- 
ans and particularly among the sprinkling of American 
boys who had gone across the border to Canada to 
enlist with them. The news was the principal topic 
of conversation through the long night — those horrible 
hours waiting for the signal to ''go over the top." At 
last the signal came and as we prepared for the dash, 
I saw one of the men in my section, an American, 
reach under his blouse and draw forth a close folded 
silk flag — he opened it with a shake, fixed it firmly to 
his bayonet and over he went, with a cheer from his 
pals, the first to carry the stars and stripes into battle 
against the Hun — and he carried them over the ridge 
to victory. 

There was another unusual feature about this inci- 
dent, for it was probably the first time in twenty years 
that colors of any kind had been carried into battle in 
the British Army. The carrying of colors was forbid- 
den by Field Marshal Wolsey in 1897 and in spite of 
many efforts to have it recognized again the prohibition 
still stands. 



165 Vimy Ridge 165 

that we were making a supreme effort to capture 
the famous ridge and their only alternative was 
to pour down on us as many shells as possible. 

Our own barrage was working perfectly; 
the explosions were occurring about 50 yards 
ahead of us as we marched along in scattered 
formation and never a German ventured to 
show himself under these circumstances as it 
meant certain death to the inquisitive one. 

The barbed wire entanglements were already 
cut for our entry the previous night and little 
difficulty was experienced by the men in advance 
who were attending to the killing of the men 
in the first trench, for there remained few who 
were capable of a stubborn resistance. 

Just at this moment a Hun shell came over 
with my name and number painted on the side 
of it, for after It exploded I was despatched 
into oblivion and my next recollections are re- 
corded in the following chapter. 

The 1200 yards allotted to the boys was 
captured but not without sanguinary losses to 
our troops, yet it was a relief to learn that the 
Huns suffered very many more casualties than 
did the Canadians on the occasion which rightly 
deserves a place among the most gallant attacks 



1 66 On Three Battle Fronts i66 

made by the Canadians in this Great War. 

The dash and courage of the Canadians on 
the various occasions when they have been up 
against superior numbers, is something that has 
to be seen in order to be appreciated to the full 
extent and as I am an Australian I can justly 
compliment the Canadians for their wonderful 
endurance and fighting qualities. 

It was in this battle that General Byng came 
before the public eye as a strategist who will 
count in ultimately pinning down the Hun to the 
limitations of his own boundaries in a fitting 
style. 

This was the third occasion when I was dis- 
appointed in failing to see the ultimate capture 
of our objectives but I have to be contented with 
the lot that has fallen to me. 



Hospital Life 

How peculiar it is to awaken from a heavy 
sleep in a strange room, away from the dread- 
ful noise of cannon; to be free from vermin 
and to actually be in white sheets spread over 
a comfortable bed. "Whatever could have 
happened to me," I wondered; because the last 
I knew I was running "Over the Top" and 
now I was actually in a suit of blue pajamas and 
I smiled as I concluded that I had suffered some 
slight wound. Why, I was home again, it 
seemed; but where? I gazed around the large 
room in which I was lying, and there seemed to 
be an endless number of beds; so I said, 
"Howard, you're in hospital." I called to a 
walking patient who was nearby and asked 
where I happened to be and he said "Boy, 
you're in Blighty." I resolved to await the ar- 
rival of the nurse and get full particulars, and 
when a Sister came along I asked her what was 
the matter with me. She explained that I had 
been hit with shrapnel and two pieces had pene- 
trated my head — one in front and one behind, 



1 68 On Three Battle Fronts i68 

and was probably also suffering from shell 
shock. It was all interesting; but so queer to 
be away from the shell-torn battle front and 
lying in a comfortable bed once again. But I 
certainly was in bad shape for all my nerves 
were jumping unmercifully. Just at this time I 
had a relapse (losing my memory for many 
weeks), and when consciousness came to me 
again I was still jumping with nerves and un- 
able to move in any desired way. A few 
minutes after coming to, I was being fed by a 
nurse — I was actually drinking some rich hot 
soup from a silver spoon and my hands were 
free from mud. This sure was the Blighty I 
had been hearing of for so long. I could not 
believe that anything was the matter till I en- 
deavored to feel my head with my hand. To 
my surprise I was powerless to feel anything al- 
though I was sure my head was all there ; still 
I was comfortable, and that, to a man recently 
from the trenches, is a great thing. 

It was 1 1 o'clock in the morning when I first 
saw the doctor on his rounds. When he came 
to me he removed the bandages from my head, 
and then I knew from his actions that I had 
been hit. I had been unconscious for hours 



169 Hospital Life 169 

»—— ^■^™^^— ■■■ '■ I ' ■ ' -^■■11. I ■■ ■■ » .1 I I ■ ■ ■ I I ■ ■ !■■ I ■ !■■ 1^ 

and during my stay in dreamland I had been 
thoroughly rid of vermin and washed free of 
trench mud; but "What of it all?" I thought, 
as I lay in that truly beautiful cot offering such 
supreme rest and comfort. This hospital I 
afterwards found to be the Royal Victoria Hos- 
pital of Southampton, England. 

For three weeks more I enjoyed the treat- 
ment at the hands of the tender nurses, and was 
deeply impressed by their attentiveness to their 
many patients — some of whom did not know 
the nature of their requests because of mental 
derangement. In this hospital there is accommo- 
dation for five thousand cases, and hundreds 
of wounded men arrive (daily whilst a cor- 
responding number are daily despatched to 
other hospitals, where their particular cases are 
best attended to — or, it may be, because of the 
prospect of early recovery. 

At the end of three weeks I was transferred 
to Epsom Downs hospital, conducted under the 
auspices of the Canadian Government. Soon 
I was again transferred, in rapid succession to 
Orpington, Kent, Warrington, Lancashire, and 
from the last hospital, to a transport which 
carried me across the Atlantic to the city of 



lyo On Three Battle Fronts 170 

Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was hurried away 
from Halifax, and was still in possession of 
my label and ticket to Cobourg, Canada, when 
the coastal city was destroyed by the terrific ex- 
plosion, so I consider myself fortunate in escap- 
ing that terrible calamity. 

During my stay in England I was progressing 
very satisfactorily when an air raid took place. 
Owing to the condition of my nerves, unstrung 
by shell shock, aggravated by the two shrapnel 
wounds in my head, I suffered a total collapse, 
and after that day for approximately four 
weeks could not stand upright. 

At the hospital at Epsom Downs I met an 
Australian Sister who used to attend the same 
school as myself in Victoria, Australia, and I 
shall not deny that I received extra special treat- 
ment during my stay in her ward. 

To preserve the high spirits of the men in 
the English hospitals all kinds of entertainments 
are furnished. During my stay there were two 
concerts a week, and movies every night, and 
it was amusing to see the manner in which the 
various patients arrived. The blind pushed the 
chairs of the disabled, and the one occupying 
the means of conveyance would direct the 



171 Hospital Life 171 

pusher by *'hard to the left," "Steady, steady," 
or ''Right ahead" and so on until the auditorium 
was filled with cripples in chairs or men other- 
wise incapacitated. We were a motley gang in 
our blue uniforms and red ties, but nevertheless 
the concerts were always enjoyed in full meas- 
ure by the audience. 

The indescribable sufferings of many of the 
hospital patients would fill a very large book 
indeed, so I will not attempt compiling a hos- 
pital book or cataloging the various cases. 
The shell-shock cases often result in the loss of 
reason, speech, voice and equilibrium. Many 
of these cases in their extreme agony are pitiful 
to look upon. Thousands of such nerve-shat- 
tered men have literally no reasoning faculties 
whatever for the time being, and, as it takes 
weary months of nursing and unlimited treat- 
ment to restore a high percentage of these men, 
one can easily imagine the amount of hospital 
work that is entailed. It is generally recog- 
nized that whatever faculty shell-shock robs a 
man of, he may be restored by another shock 
or extreme mental excitement. I have known 
of speechless cases having speech restored after 
an aerial raid over London. I was present at 



172 On Three Battle Fronts 172 

a boxing contest during which a very interest- 
ing incident of this sort occurred. A returned 
soldier who had lost his speech was present. As 
the fight progressed a point of very great im- 
portance was reached; the tide was turning in 
favor of one of the contestants. This speech- 
less soldier in his excitement leaped from his 
seat, and with a great desire to see his man win, 
opened his mouth to shout — did shout; his 
speech was restored. The cure of battle deaf- 
ness is becoming a common occurrence in Eng- 
land, and what strides medicine and surgery are 
making in this way is yet not realized in many 
parts of the world. Nothing, however, can sur- 
pass the wonderful endurance of the nurses and 
their never-failing devotion and tender care of 
their patients. It is in this service that women 
raise themselves to the ideals seldom dreamed 
of in other callings. 

The regularity of the hospital hours troubled 
the new arrivals very much, for after 6 A. M. 
all were wide awake and washed and some per- 
haps were undergoing walking treatment. Men 
whose legs had stiffened, and men whose arms 
had become set in one position, had to undergo 
rather peculiar treatment in order to restore the 



173 Hospital Life 173 

use of their limbs, and when watching these 
patients exercising their stiff legs I always 
thought of little children learning to walk. 

The modern Idea Is to keep the mind of the 
patients occupied and off their troubles, and 
all kinds of methods are adopted to accomplish 
this end. Blind men are taught basket-making 
and other similar work; lame men make every- 
thing from toys to mats, and sometimes extra 
clever men make leather bags of a very credit- 
able kind. 

It was in the Hospital at Warrington that a 
Board of Doctors said that I was to be placed 
in "E" category, which meant that I was to be 
discharged from the army if I recovered suffi- 
ciently; and it was because of this fact that I 
was returned to Canada to "make the grade" — 
a process in all occupying eleven months. 

My treatment alone must have cost a small 
fortune for it called for hot and cold baths for 
hours each day, hot running-water baths, electri- 
cal treatment, and other methods for the cure of 
nervous disorders by means of static electricity. 

The cases just about to be discharged are al- 
ways envied by the boys not yet well enough to 
walk about, but patients just able to walk have 



174 On Three Battle Fronts 174 

very little use for men sufficiently well to be 
able to slip over the back fence and enjoy a little 
party given by some kind lady friends. 



Conclusion 

Might will never batter down the spirit 
grounded in truth; even though gloomy 
moments may temporarily cloak the sun from 
our view and pacifists and like decadents prompt 
us to despair because of their childish theories 
and half-baked ideas of strategy. I know by 
experience the white hot spirit which feeds the 
enthusiasm of the boys holding on to the thin 
lines over there on the battlefields whose un- 
written incidents of sacrifice and brotherly love 
are without parallel. The ancients bled whilst 
courting fame, but men today are bleeding and 
suffering because of love— that brotherly love 
considered Utopian and impractical till this great 
war engulfed the world. Personal gain and 
the show of medals mean little to me; I know 
the great mission of my life is in the main ful- 
filled, in contributing my mite to the fight for 
posterity and humanity. To have helped curb 
the Berlin Brute in real action is a fitting in- 
troduction into other worlds. The thousands 
of men who laid down their lives for YOU and 



176 On Three Battle Fronts 176 

those yet unborn have few equals In the whole 
realm of martyrdom, and who that has actually 
been months in the front line trenches can justly 
record the thousands of incidents illustrating 
the new factor in the world of today, w'hich, 
for want of better words, I will call "brotherly 
love.'* Now its a man with an arm blown off 
trying to rescue his dying pal out In No Man's 
Land; tomorrow it is the sight of a mortally 
wounded Officer commanding his men to prop 
him up in the trench that he may still urge them 
on; and thus it is that one gains the conviction 
that something new is present in our midst 
which fills the timid with indescribable pluck 
and urges all on and on making no account of 
sacrifices and displaying a heroism that In most 
Instances must go unrecorded. There's no lack 
of spirit In the trenches; men dismiss the pres- 
ence of enemy machine guns peppering the 
ground all around them in the performance of 
their duty, and all are trying to win out for 
this great cause, and If they have a little time 
to spare then It Is bestowed upon the men who 
are **down" from wounds. The spirit of the 
boys will never waver unless from neglect of 
those at home far away from the zone of 



177 Conclusion 177 

f — I 

danger. If those at home were imbued with the 
same ideas that the boys have in the field, then 
one could wave aside ail ideas of failure and look 
forward "to the day" when brute force will be 
whining at the feet of the Allies' Generals and 
pleading for peace; but before this is accom- 
plished all must curtail wasted energy, help in 
the direction where one's abilities are of most 
use, and have that determination which knows 
not defeat. 

The whole family of pacifists are German 
sympathisers or at least Germany's abettors, 
and if there are men under the protection of 
the flags of the Allies who are unwilling to con- 
tribute their services in one form or another, 
may God hasten the day when these burdens 
may be lifted from our backs, and rewarded ac- 
cording to their deeds ! 

The Germans are using every vile means to 
further their ends, and we must offset this by 
white-hot loyalty in this the greatest struggle 
the world has known for the freedom of all 
peoples and the protection of the weak. 



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Illustrations 

Howard Brothers at Broadmeadows Training 

Camp Frontispiece 

Lord Kitchener and General Birdwood Inspect- 
ing Turkish Positions 44 

Anzac Cove 70 

Turkish Fire During Landing Operations . . 70 

Sixth Battery in Action at Gallipoli .... 78 

General Bridge's Headquarters at Anzac Cove . 116 

"The Chase" 150 



Poems 

"Anzacs" 66 

"Our Task" 80 

"Over The Top" . . . . . . . . .108 

These poems are selected from those most frequently 

quoted, in part or in full, by Private Howard in Red 

Cross and Liberty Loan Addresses. 



Index 



Paare. 

''A-2," Australian (Subma- 
rine 26 

Aberdeen, Wash., Arrival at 85 

Aden. Arrival at 29 

Aerial Activity (West front) 129 
Aerial Supremacy (West 

front) 101 

Alexandria, City of 32 

American Flag (Vimy Ridge) 165 

ANZAC, Meaning of 79 

Anzac Club, London... 116 

Anzacs, poem 66 

Atrocities, Turkish 75 

Barrage Are perfected 101 

Bayonet Man 124 

Billets, dangers in ....153 & 156 

Billets, life in 151 

Biographical Sketch, How- 
ard 4 

"Blighty," meaning of.... 112 
Bombing Party, duties and 

activities of 124 

Boulogne, arrival at 97 

Boxing contests 17 

Bridges, General 75 

Broadmeadows. Training 

Camp 13 

"Brumby" Australian wild 

horse 15 

Burial at Sea 32 

Burning of the Wasir 68 

Byng, General 166 

Cairo, city of 34 

Camel, peculiarities of 43 

Canada, traveling across.., 86 

Canada, return to 170 

Climate, effect on men 132 

Colombo, arrival at 28 

Conclusion 175 

Convalescence, after Galll- 

poU 78 

Co-ordination, of service. ... 132 

"Cooties" 44 

"Cooties" In Billets 150 

"Cushy Blighty" 112 

Departure for America.... 81 
Departure for France 95 



Departure for Gallipoll .... 68 

Desert, description 37 

Desert, mysteries and dan- 
gers 40 

Discharge, Australia 79 

"Dug Outs" 134 

"Dungarees" 12 

Duties and Activities — 

In Front Lines 119 

In Support Trenches . . 120 

In Reserve Trenches... 120 

Of Engineers 121 & 128 

Emden, Sinking of the. ... 24 

England, arrival in 89 

England, training in 93 

Enlistment, with Canadians 86 

Enlistment, first 12 

Eauipment, Canadian 98 

Equipment, field 98 

Escape from auagmlre 139 to 144 

Exhortation to those at home 176 

Formations, new, in battle. 159 

France, arrival in 97 

Front line, approach to.... 102 

Duties of 119 

Gallipoll, battle at 72 to 77 

Landing, Anzac Cove.. 70 

Ginger Mack 48 

Grant, Douglas 136 

Gurkas, Indian troops (Suez) 45 

Halifax, arrival at 87 

Hazing at Broadmeadows 17 & 51 

Heating In trenches 133 

Horses, Arab 42 

Horsebreaking 56 & 63 

Howard, Clarence Victor 

Frontispiece & 4 

Death of 76 

Howard, Fred 4 

Howard, William Alfred 

Frontispiece & 4 

Hospital Life 115 

At Bearwood (Eng.) 113 

Epsom Downs ...169 & 114 

Royal Victoria 167 

Hospital in France 112 



Index 



Indian Troops (Ourkas). ... 45 
Introduction 7 

Kent, training in 93 

Kitchener, call for volun- 
teers 11 

Drill methods 39 & 46 

Landingr, Anzac Cove (Galli- 

poli) 70 

Leave, in London 116 

Lemnos Is., transfer at.... 69 

Lumber Camp Life, in XJ. S. 84 

MacLaughlin, (Ginger Mack) 48 

Melbourne, Australia 20 

Mena Camp, Training 37 

Activities 38 

"Mini," Schooner 82 

Mo-nkey Farm, cf. Somme.. 99 

Night Attack 123 

No Man's Land, Horrors of 

135 & 138 

"Our Task," poem 80 

''Over The Top," poem ... 108 
Over the Top, what it feels 

like to go 109 

Port Said, arrival at 30 

nation party, the 128 

Rambert, French town of.. 157 

Rats at the front 131 

''•Rato", Howard's tame rat 131 

)Eletum to the front 119 

Stoman Nose 15 

^ His training 55 

• Death 117 

bailing from Melbourne .... 21 

"Sandy Blight" 39 

Scouting 136 

Dangers of ..139, 146, 148 

Duties of 149 

Methods 136 

ecouts, German 146 



Somme, Battle of the 99 

Effect on German Mor- 
ale l6l 

Strategic objectives ... 100 

Taking of Corsalette . . . 105 
Taking of Monkey Farm 

and Distillery 104 

Spies, detection of, in army 96 

In Egypt 35 

Spirit of the Anzacs 69 

Of the French people.. 97 
Submarine "A-2," Austra- 
lian 26 

Submarines, German 89 

Suez, battle at 44 

"Suicide Club" 121 

Sydney, H. M. A. S 25 

Tanks, first appearance . 105 

Training, Australia 13 

Egypt 38 & 67 

England 93 

Intensive, France .... 98 

Transport, Canadian 88 

Australian (A-9) 20 

Transports, mobilization of 23 
Treatment of Canadians by 

French • people 159 

Treatment for wounds and 

shell shock 171 to 173 

Trench life 130 

Trench Mortars 121 

Trench systems .... 103 & 125 

Uniform, first, (dungarees). 12 
Khaki 16 

Vimy Ridge, battle of 155 

American flag at 165 

Attack 162 

Approach from Rambert 169 

Howard wounded 165 

Preparative rai^ 161 

Rehearsal for 157 

Von Armin, General 99 

Wound at Gallipoli 77 

Sonmie 107 

Vimy Ridge 165 



Zeppelin raid over London. 



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